Means and methods for preventing and/or treating caries

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a microorganism belonging to the group of lactic acid bacteria characterized in that it is capable of specifically binding to  Streptococcus mutans , wherein the specific binding is (i) resistant to heat treatment; and/or (ii) resistant to protease treatment; and/or (iii) calcium-dependent; and/or (iv) formed within a pH range between 4.5 and 8.5; and/or (v) formed in the presence of saliva. Preferably, the specific binding can be assayed as follows:
     (a) growing said microorganism to stationary phase;   (b) mixing said microorganism with  Streptococcus mutans  which has been grown to stationary phase;   (c) incubating the mixture obtained in step (b) under conditions allowing the formation of aggregates of said microorganism and  Streptococcus mutans  and   (d) detecting aggregates by the occurrence of a pellet.   

     Another aspect of the present invention is an analog or fragment of said microorganism which is thermally inactivated or lyophilized, wherein said analog or fragment retains the capability of specifically binding to  Streptococcus mutans . In addition, the present invention encompasses compositions and additives for food, feed or drinks comprising the microorganism belonging to the group of lactic acid bacteria which specifically bind to  Streptococcus mutans  or an analog or fragment thereof. Moreover, uses of said microorganism or said analog or fragment thereof for the preparation of an anticariogenic or pharmaceutical composition or anticariogenic food or feedstuff as well as methods for producing said compositions or food or feedstuff are provided by the present invention.

The present invention relates to a microorganism belonging to the groupof lactic acid bacteria characterized in that it is capable ofspecifically binding to Streptococcus mutans, wherein the specificbinding is (i) resistant to heat treatment; and/or (ii) resistant toprotease treatment; and/or (iii) calcium-dependent; and/or (iv) formedwithin a pH range between 4.5 and 8.5; and/or (v) formed in the presenceof saliva. Preferably, the specific binding can be assayed as follows:

-   (a) growing said microorganism to stationary phase;-   (b) mixing said microorganism with Streptococcus mutans which has    been grown to stationary phase;-   (c) incubating the mixture obtained in step (b) under conditions    allowing the formation of aggregates of said microorganism and    Streptococcus mutans and-   (d) detecting aggregates by the occurrence of a pellet.

Another aspect of the present invention is an analog or fragment of saidmicroorganism which is thermally inactivated or lyophilized, whereinsaid analog or fragment retains the capability of specifically bindingto Streptococcus mutans. In addition, the present invention encompassescompositions and additives for food, feed or drinks comprising themicroorganism belonging to the group of lactic acid bacteria whichspecifically bind to Streptococcus mutans or an analog or fragmentthereof. Moreover, uses of said microorganism or said analog or fragmentthereof for the preparation of an anticariogenic or pharmaceuticalcomposition or anticariogenic food or feedstuff as well as methods forproducing said compositions or food or feedstuff are provided by thepresent invention.

Streptococcus mutans μlays a central role in the development of caries.S. mutans metabolises sucrose to organic acids thereby developing anacidic micro environment. On the one hand, this provides an advantagefor the less acidophilic, non-cariogenic oral plaque bacteria. On theother hand, the organic acids demineralise dental enamel, leading tocariotic lesions. Furthermore, S. mutans synthesises a non-water solubleglucan matrix which enforces the plaque and adds to the adherence of S.mutans to the tooth surface. The role of further bacterial species thatare connected to caries development like lactic acid bacteria oractinomycetes is not conclusive. These bacteria are often found incariotic lesions, but only in association with S. mutans. To presentknowledge, the presence of S. mutans is an indispensable condition ofcariogenesis.

The initial binding of S. mutans to the surface of the teeth occurs viatwo mechanisms. The first mechanism is binding of S. mutans via thestreptococcal antigen I/II (SA I/11)—a surface protein also known by thesynonyms B, IF, P1, SR, MSL-1 or PAc—to the pellicle, a layer of salivaproteins on the teeth surface. Antibodies against this protein have beenshown to prevent the adhesion of S. mutans in vitro.

Accordingly, the streptococcal antigen I/II (SA I/II) is a target forvaccination. In different recombinant combinations—the complete antigen,the saliva binding region, the protein coupled to cholera toxin orexpressed on the surface of an avirulent Salmonella strain—a successfulimmunization of animals has been shown. This resulted in high IgA titersand a reduction of S. mutans colonization (Huang et al., Infect. Immun.69 (2001), 2154-2161). Comparable results have been achieved using aDNA-vaccine coding for SA I/II (Fan et al., J. Dent. Res. 81 (2002),784-787).

Passive immunity has been achieved by recombinant expression of anti-SAI/II antibodies on the surface of lactic acid bacteria. Theselactobacilli aggregate S. mutans and administration of the bacteria torats led to a reduction of caries development (Krueger et al., NatureBiotechnology 20 (2002), 702-706).

The most important binding partner of the streptococcal antigen is thesalivary agglutinin, a protein similar to the lung glycoprotein gp-340from the scavenger receptor cysteine-rich superfamily (Prakobphol etal., J. Biol. Chem. 275 (2000) 39860-39866). The role of agglutinin incariogenesis is not entirely understood so far. It can lead to theadhesion of S. mutans when present bound to surfaces, and it can lead toan aggregation of S. mutans when present in a soluble state. The lattermight result in a removal of aggregated S. mutans from the mouth bysaliva flow. A high agglutinin concentration in saliva leads in vitro toan increase in the adhesion of S. mutans , whereas in vivo there is noclear correlation between the agglutinin concentration in saliva and therisk for caries (Stenudd et al., J. Dent. Res. 80 (2001), 2005-2010).

Monoclonal antibodies against agglutinin completely block the binding ofS. mutans to saliva-coated hydroxyapatite in vitro and prevent theagglutinin dependent aggregation (Carlen and Olsson, J. Dent. Res. 74(1995), 1040-1047; Carlen et al., J. Dent. Res. 77 (1998), 81-90). Bradyet al., Infect. Immun. 60 (1992), 1008-1017 showed that the surfaceadhesion and the aggregation can be independently inhibited by differentantibodies. This indicates that different epitopes of agglutinin areresponsible for these two effects.

Other saliva proteins frequently connected to the development of cariesare proline-rich proteins (PRPs). However, the role of these proteins inthe adhesion of cariogenic bacteria is discussed controversially. Theseproteins are coded by two gene loci (PRH-1 and PRH-2) and occur indifferent variants that differ in only a few amino acids (PRP-1, PRP-2,PIF. Db-double band). These variants can be cleaved proteolytically,resulting in the so-called small PRPs (PRP-3, PRP-4. PIF-fund Db-f).

PRPs mediate a strong binding of commensales like Actinomyces naeslundiior non-mutans streptococci. Interestingly, this binding takes place onlyafter adhesion of the protein to the tooth surface, resulting in aconformational shift making the binding sites accessible. S. mutans isonly weakly bound. The PRP-variant Db is of relevance for the effectivebinding of S. mutans. A high concentration of Db correlates with a highadhesion of S. mutans and a strong development of caries. A reduced partof PRP-Db of a high total PRP concentration correlates with a lowdevelopment of caries (Stenudd et al., J. Dent. Res. 80 (2001),2005-2010). It is unknown, if S. mutans binds directly to PRPs.

The second way of S. mutans to adhere to the tooth surface is via asucrose dependent adhesion. S. mutans expresses three differentglycosyltransferases (GTFs) that are capable of synthesizing the sugarpolymer glucan. Glucans exist in a water soluble form (1-6 glycosidiclinkage) and a non-soluble form called mutan (1-3 glycosidic linkage).Mutan cannot be degraded either by oral bacteria or by enzymes insaliva. It forms a sticky matrix within the dental plaque that is thebasis for the sucrose dependent adhesion of S. mutans. Theglycosyltransferases GTFB and GTFC, the prevalent enzymes responsiblefor mutan formation, are located on the cell surface of S. mutans. Incontrast, the glycosyltransferase GTFD synthesises the soluble glucanand is secreted by S. mutans. Experiments using GTF deficient mutants ofS. mutans show that an interaction of all three enzymes is necessary fora sucrose dependent adhesion (Ooshima et al., J. Dent. Res. 80 (2001),1672-1677).

Glycosyltransferases have an N-terminal sucrose binding site and aC-terminal glucan binding site. Antibodies against the enzyme or againstthe glucan binding site lead to an inhibition of the sucrose dependentadhesion of S. mutans. It has not been possible to block the N-terminalsucrose binding site using antibodies (Yu et al., Infect. Immun. 65(1997), 2292-2298).

An inhibition of glycosyltransferases followed by a reduced adhesion ofS. mutans can also be achieved by some flavonoids or terpenoids (US2004/0057908) or propolis extracts (Duarte et al., Biol. Pharmacol.Bull. 26 (2003), 527-531).

Lactic acid bacteria named S11 have been found, that reduce mutanformation and, therefore, adherence of S. mutans in vitro. As describedabove, mutan formation is essential for S. mutans to adhere to the toothsurface. Accordingly, Chung et al. (Oral Microbiol. Immunol. 19 (2004),214-216) have found detached S. mutans cells when they have beenincubated with the lactic acid bacteria of strain S11 which are said toreduce mutan formation. The binding of S. mutans to mutan occurs viabacterial binding proteins (glucan binding protein). The exact mechanismof this binding has to be determined (Sato et al., Infect. Immun. 65(1997), 668-675).

The fungi Trichoderma harzianum and Penicillium purpurogenum producehomologous alpha-1,3-glucanases (Fuglsang et al., J. Biol. Chem. 275(2000), 2009-2018). The use of Enterococcus, Lactobacillus andLactococcus species effective against glucan production and plaqueformation is described (U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,952). The mechanism ofaction has to be elucidated.

A further approach to inhibit caries is to neutralise the low pH in theplaque. Urea and arginine are components of saliva. Urea is present inconcentrations of 3-10 mmol/L without major differences between cariesfree and caries affected persons. The concentration of free argininediffers between 4 and 40 μmol/L. Caries free individuals have a higheraverage of free arginine concentrations in saliva than caries affectedpersons (van Wuyckhuyse et al., J. Dent. Res. 74 (1995), 686-690).

Some plaque bacteria like Streptococcus sanguis and Actinomycesnaeslundi are capable of cleaving urea or arginine resulting in theformation of ammonia. The alkaline ammonium rises the pH of the plaqueand therefore reduces caries (Curran et al., Appl. Environm. Microbiol.61 (1995), 4494-4496; Morou-Bermudez and Burne, Infect. Immun. 68(2000), 6670-6676). Accordingly, these bacteria are suggested to be usedto treat caries. Another approach suggested for treating caries is thatby proteolyses of PRP-1 and PRP-3 arginine rich peptides are created,that can, after further proteolysis by oral bacteria like S. sanguis, S.oralis and S. mitis, lead to a higher pH in the plaque. By applicationof a recombinant variant of these peptides, the sucrose dependentdecrease of the pH is inhibited (Li et al., Infect. Immun. 68 (2000),5425-5429). Moreover, it is described that by using a urea containingchewing gum after sucrose intake the drop of pH can be inhibited and,accordingly, for example, S. mutans may not contribute so much tocaries.

However, as is evident from the above, the prior art providesrecombinant microorganisms and/or live microorganisms for use intreating caries which may be harmful and which are not food gradeorganisms. Alternatively, the prior art provides agents which may not bestable enough for a prolonged period in the oral cavity to exert theirpotential anticariogenic effect. In addition, the agents of the priorart so far suggested to be useful for treating caries, e.g., enzymepreparations, chemical compounds, etc. may not be cold-stable, pH-stableand/or thermostable which renders them rather ineffective. Furthermore,some of them bear the risk of adverse side effects. For example,streptococcal antigens which are suggested to be used for vaccinationagainst caries may cause severe problems associated with vaccination. Tosummarize, the prior art does not provide an agent which is not harmfulfor the subject in need of caries prophylaxis and/or treatment, whichcan be effectively and easily used for treating caries and which can becheaply produced in large amounts. Hence, there is a need for an agentwhich fulfils the aforementioned desirable criteria and which is usefulfor preventing and/or treating caries.

It, thus, follows that the technical problem underlying the presentinvention is to comply with the needs described above. The solution tothis technical problem is achieved by providing the embodimentscharacterized in the claims.

Accordingly, in a first aspect the present invention relates to amicroorganism belonging to the group of lactic acid bacteriacharacterized in that it is capable of specifically binding toStreptococcus mutans, wherein the specific binding is

(i) resistant to heat treatment; and/or

(ii) resistant to protease treatment; and/or

(iii) calcium-dependent; and/or

(iv) formed within a pH range between 4.5 and 8.5 and/or

(v) formed in the presence of saliva.

Preferably, the specific binding can be assayed as follows:

(a) growing said microorganism to stationary phase;

(b) mixing said microorganism with Streptococcus mutans which has beengrown to stationary phase;

(c) incubating the mixture obtained in step (b) under conditionsallowing the formation of aggregates of said microorganism andStreptococcus mutans; and

(d) detecting aggregates by the occurrence of a pellet.

The specific binding is preferably assayed as described in Example 3herein below. Microorganisms belonging to the group of lactic acidbacteria are preferably mixed with S. mutans in volumetric ratios of 3:1to 60:1 (S. mutans: lactobacilli). Both, the lactic acid bacteria and S.mutans are grown to stationary phase as described in Example 1.Preferably, the optical density is measured photometrically at awavelength of 600 nm. The mentioned ratios correspond to a ratio ofcolony forming units from 1:50 to 1:2.5. Preferably, an OD₆₀₀=1 in 1 mlcorrelates to 3×10⁸ colony forming units of S. mutans. Preferably, anOD₆₀₀=1 in 1 mL correlates to 7×10⁹ colony forming units of lactobacilliof the present invention. Preferably, for assaying the aggregationreaction, the bacteria are in a volume of 2 ml in 15 ml Falcon tubes. Ifnecessary, the culture suspensions are diluted with PBS-butter to obtainvolumetric ratios mentioned above, while keeping the final volume at 2ml. Preferably, the mixture is vortexed for about 15 seconds and thenleft undisturbed for at least 5, 10, 15 minutes and more preferably forat least 20 minutes at room temperature, i.e. any temperature between16° C. and 25° C. An aggregation is visible as an immediate turbity ofthe suspension and, after at least 20 minutes an aggregation is visibleby aggregates that settle as a visible pellet (exemplarily shown in FIG.1, left Falcon tube), whereas non-S. mutans aggregating mixtures stay insuspension (exemplarily shown in FIG. 1, right Falcon tube). As acontrol, self-aggregation of the respective lactic acid bacterium andthe S. mutans strain can be assayed by omitting either S. mutans or thelactic acid bacterium.

Additionally, the specific binding does not require magnesium. Thischaracteristic can be tested as described in the appended Examples.

All the above-mentioned characteristics render the microorganism of thepresent invention belonging to the group of lactic acid bacteria asuitable agent for preventing and/or treating caries which is caused byS. mutans. Accordingly, the microorganism of the present inventionexerts an anticariogenic effect and is thus a useful agent forpreventing and/or treating caries. “Caries” or “dental caries” or“cavity” are interchangeable terms for a chronic infectious diseaseassociated with soft decayed area in a tooth which progressively leadsto the death of a tooth. It usually occurs in children and young adultsbut can affect any person. It is the most important cause of tooth lossin younger people. Caries can be diagnosed by methods known in the art(see, for example, Anqmar-Mansson and ten Bosch, Adv. Dent. Res. 7(1993), 70-79)

The term “preventing caries” includes prophylaxis of caries.Accordingly, a subject who has never been encountered with Streptococcusmutans, the causative agent of caries, but is at a risk of beingencounterred, i.e. infected with Streptococcus mutans benefits, forexample, from the compositions of the present invention which comprisethe microorganism or a mutant or derivative of the present invention oran analog or fragment thereof as described herein insofar as saidsubject will not suffer from caries. Hence, the compositions of thepresent invention are, for example, useful for being administered toinfants or children for prophylaxis of caries since the infant's oralcavity is normally free of Streptococcus mutans. However, thecompositions of the present invention are not limited to administrationto infants or children.

The term “treating caries” includes administration of the compositionsof the present invention to a subject suffering from caries for thepurpose of diminishing the amount of cells of Streptococcus mutansand/or for completely depleting Streptococcus mutans from the mouth, inparticuler from the oral cavity including teeth. Of course, after havingbeen cured from Streptococcus mutans, it is envisaged that therespective subject has benefits from the compositions of the presentinvention as regards their prophylactic anti-caries effects exerted onStreptococcus mutans.

Optionally, the microorganism of the present invention is a probioticmicroorganism which has, besides its anticariogenic effects, beneficialeffects to the host organism to which it is administered. A “probiotic”,by the generally accepted definition, is a “live microbial feedsupplement which beneficially affects the host animal by improving itsintestinal microbial balance”. The microorganism of the presentinvention, if it has probiotic properties, may be included in functionalor health food stuff which is described herein below.

Streptococcus mutans occurs as part of the normal flora in the mouth. Itis involved in the cause of dental caries. Dental plaque adheres to thefissures and pits of the teeth adjacent to the gums. It consistsinitially of glycoprotein which is precipitated and is adsorbed onto thetooth enamel. Oral bacteria then become associated with theglycoprotein. Dietary sucrose is an important contributor to cariesproduction, particularly if the sucrose is in the form of sticky sweetfoods some of which can remain in the mouth for some time. The sucroseis thus more completely metabolised by Streptococcus mutans to formacid. Drinks which contain sucrose are swallowed and so the sucrosespends less time in the mouth. It is essential that dental plaque iscontrolled by the use of regular tooth-brushing and the use oftoothpicks and dental floss. The addition of 1 ppm of fluoride todrinking water has proved very effective in reducing caries. Thepossibility of using a vaccine against Streptococcus mutans has beenrejected. However, by the surprising finding of the present inventionthat naturally-occurring microorganisms belonging to the group of lacticacid bacteria preferably to the genus of Lactobacillus are capable ofspecifically binding to

Streptococcus mutans, it is possible to effectively prevent and/or treatcaries since the microorganisms of the present invention aggregate andflush away Streptococcus mutans due to, for example, salivary flow fromthe mouth including the tooth surface and the oral cavity. Accordingly,the present invention provides easily administrable bacteria which arefood-grade organisms that may, in addition to their anticariogenicproperties, be useful as probiotics.

When screening a private collection to identify microorganisms for thecapability to bind to Streptococcus mutans, it was surprisingly foundthat naturally-occurring microorganisms belonging to the group of lacticacid bacteria, preferably to the genus of Lactobacillus are capable ofspecifically binding to Streptococcus mutans which is the causativeagent of caries. By specifically binding to Streptococcus mutans, themicroorganism belonging to the group of lactic acid bacteria, preferablyto the genus of Lactobacillus disclosed herein, inter alia, bind to andaggregate Streptococcus mutans and thus, in consequence, flush awayStreptococcus mutans by the natural flow of salivary, thereby preventingand/or treating caries. On top of this, the microorganisms of thepresent invention do preferably not bind other microorganisms present inthe oral cavity which is described herein and in particular in Example 4herein below. Thus, the microenvironment of the oral cavity is notdisturbed since only S. mutans as the causative agent of caries isdepleted. To the best knowledge, S. mutans does not have any beneficialeffects to the oral cavity and, thus, its loss has no adverse effect tothe respective host.

Strikingly, the specific binding of the microorganism, in particular ofthe Lactobacillus species disclosed herein to Streptococcus mutans isresistant to heat treatment and/or resistant to protease treatment. Inaddition, the specific binding is dependent on calcium and/orindependent of magnesium and stable at an acidic point of 4.5 and itoccurs in the presence of saliva which renders it in particular suitablefor oral applications or as additive for food, feed or drinks which maycontain higher concentrations of calcium, such as milk. Remarkably,thermally inactivated or lyophilised analogs or (a) fragment(s) of saidmicroorganisms disclosed herein are still capable of specificallybinding to Streptococcus mutans. This surprising effect is advantageousfor using said analog(s) or fragment(s) of said microorganisms as wellas mutants or derivatives thereof in compositions for use in themammals, preferably, humans or animals to prevent and/or treat caries.In particular said analogs or fragments can be easily added to anycomposition, e.g. cosmetic or pharmaceutical composition, food orfeedstuff or drinks and the like. Additionally, the production of suchanalogs or fragments is cheap and easy and they can be stored forprolonged periods of time without loosing their capability tospecifically bind to Streptococcus mutans. A further advantage of themicroorganism of the present invention is that it retains its capabilityto specifically bind to S. mutans if it is lyophilised or spray-dried ordried. This makes it a favourable ingredient for the compositionsdisclosed herein.

Other embodiments and advantages of the invention are set forth in partin the description herein, and in part, may be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned from the practice of the invention.

Before the present invention is described in detail, it is to beunderstood that this invention is not limited to the particularmethodology, protocols, bacteria, vectors, and reagents etc. describedherein as these may vary. It is also to be understood that theterminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only, and is not intended to limit the scope of the presentinvention which will be limited only by the appended claims. Unlessdefined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein havethe same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in theart.

Preferably, the terms used herein are defined as described in “Amultilingual glossary of biotechnological terms: (IUPACRecommendations)”, Leuenberqer, H. G. W, Nagel, B. and Kölbl, H. eds.(1995), Helvetica Chimica Acta, CH-4010 Basel, Switzerland). Throughoutthis specification and the claims which follow, unless the contextrequires otherwise, the word “comprise”, and variations such as“comprises” and “comprising”, will be understood to imply the inclusionof a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not theexclusion of any other integer or step or group of integer or step.Several documents are cited throughout the text of this specification.Each of the documents cited herein (including all patents, patentapplications, scientific publications, manufacturer's specifications,instructions, etc.), whether supra or infra, are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety. Nothing herein is to be construed as anadmission that the invention is not entitled to antedate such disclosureby virtue of prior invention.

It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, thesingular forms “a”, “an”, and “the”, include plural referents unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “areagent” includes one or more of such different reagents, and referenceto “the method” includes reference to equivalent steps and methods knownto those of ordinary skill in the art that could be modified orsubstituted for the methods described herein.

When used in the context of the present invention, the term,microorganism belonging to the group of lactic acid bacteria” or“microorganism of the present invention” encompasses (a)microorganism(s) which belong(s) to bacteria, in particular belonging togram-positive fermentative eubacteria, more particularly belonging tothe family of lactobacteriaceae including lactic acid bacteria. Inaddition, said term also encompasses derivatives or mutants or analogsor fragments, such as a membrane fraction as described herein, of saidmicroorganims(s) which retain the capability to specifically bind to S.mutans. The terms “derivative”, “mutants”, “analogs” and “fragments” aredescribed elsewhere herein. Lactic acid bacteria are from a taxonomicalpoint of view divided up into the subdivisions of Streptococcus,Leuconostoc, Pediococcus and Lactobacillus. The microorganism of thepresent invention is preferably a Lactobacillus species. Members of thelactic acid bacteria group normally lack porphyrins and cytochromes, donot carry out electron-transport phosphorylation and hence obtain energyonly by substrate-level phosphorylation. I.e. in lactic acid bacteriaATP is synthesized through fermentation of carbohydrates. All of thelactic acid bacteria grow anaerobically, however, unlike many anaerobes,most lactic acid bacteria are not sensitive to oxygen and can thus growin its presence as well as in its absence. Accordingly, the bacteria ofthe present invention are preferably aerotolerant anaerobic lactic acidbacteria, preferably belonging to the genus of Lactobacillus.

The lactic acid bacteria of the present invention are preferablyrod-shaped or spherical, varying from long and slender to short bentrods, are moreover preferably immotile and/or asporogenous and producelactic acid as a major or sole product of fermentative metabolism. Thegenus Lactobacillus to which the microorganism of the present inventionbelongs in a preferred embodiment is divided up by the followingcharacteristics into three major subgroups, whereby it is envisaged thatthe Lactobacillus species of the present invention can belong to each ofthe three major subgroups:

(a) homofermentative lactobacilli

-   -   (i) producing lactic acid, preferably the L-, D- or        DL-isorner(s) of lactic acid in an amount of at least 85% from        glucose via the Embden-Meyerhof pathway;    -   (ii) growing at a temperature of 45° C., but not at a        temperature of 15° C.;    -   (iii) being long-rod shaped; and    -   (iv) having glycerol teichoic acid in the cell wall;

(b) homofermantative lactobacilli

-   -   (i) producing lactic acid, preferably the L- or DL-isomer(s) of        lactic acid via the Embden-Meyerhof pathway;    -   (ii) growing at a temperature of 15° C., showing variable growth        at a temperature of 45° C.;    -   (iii) being short-rod shaped or coryneform; and    -   (iv) having ribitol and/or glycerol teichoic acid in their cell        wall;

(c) heterofermentative lactobacilli

-   -   (i) producing lactic acid, preferably the DL-isomer of lactic        acid in an amount of at least 50% from glucose via the        pentose-phosphate pathway;    -   (ii) producing carbondioxide and ethanol    -   (iii) showing variable growth at a temperature of 15° C. or 45°        C.;    -   (iv) being long or short rod shaped; and    -   (v) having glycerol teichoic acid in their cell wall.

Based on the above-described characteristics, the microorganisms of thepresent invention can be classified to belong to the group of lacticacid bacteria, particularly to the genus of Lactobacillus. By usingclassical systematics, for example, by reference to the pertinentdescriptions in “Bergey's Manual of Systematic Bacteriology” (Williams &Wilkins Co., 1984), a microorganim of the present invention can bedetermined to belong to the genus of Lactobacillus. Alternatively, themicroorganisms of the present invention can be classified to belong tothe genus of Lactobacillus by methods known in the art, for example, bytheir metabolic fingerprint, i.e. a comparable overview of thecapability of the microorganism(s) of the present invention tometabolize sugars or by other methods described, for example, inSchleifer et al., System. Appl. Microb., 18 (1995), 461-467 or Ludwig etal., System. Appl. Microb., 15 (1992), 487-501. The microorganisms ofthe present invention are capable of metabolizing sugar sources whichare typical and known in the art for microorganisms belonging to thegenus of Lactobacillus. In a preferred embodiment, however, themicroorganism of the present invention has a metabolic fingerprintselected from the group consisting of:

(i) it metabolizes D-lactose, but not L-sorbose and/or D-saccharoseand/or D-inuline,

(ii) it metabolizes inuline,

(iii) it metabolizes L-sorbose, but not D-lactose and/or D-saccharoseand/or inuline, and

(iv) it metabolizes L-sorbose, D-lactose and inuline.

Preferably, the microorganism of the present invention has a metabolicfingerprint selected from the group consisting of:

(i) it metabolizes D-lactose, but not L-sorbose, D-saccharose andinuline,

(ii) it metabolizes L-sorbose, D-lactose and inuline, but notD-saccharose,

(iii) it metabolizes L-sorbose, but not D-lactose, D-saccharose andinuline, and

(iv) it metabolizes L-sorbose, D-lactose, D-saccharose, but not inuline.

Of course, the microorganism of the present invention is not limited tothe metabolization of the sugars mentioned in the aforementionedmetabolic fingerprint pattern, but may be capable of metabolizingfurther sugars which are commonly metabolized by Lactobacillus species.

The affiliation of the microorganisms of the present invention to thegenus of Lactobacillus can also be characterized by using other methodsknown in the art, for example, using SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis oftotal protein of the species to be determined and comparing them toknown and already characterized strains of the genus Lactobacillus. Thetechniques for preparing a total protein profile as described above, aswell as the numerical analysis of such profiles, are well known to aperson skilled in the art. However, the results are only reliableinsofar as each stage of the process is sufficiently standardized. Facedwith the requirement of accuracy when determining the attachment of amicroorganism to the genus of Lactobacillus, standardized procedures areregularly made available to the public by their authors such as that ofPot et al., as presented during a “workshop” organized by the EuropeanUnion, at the University of Ghent, in Belgium, on Sep. 12 to 16, 1994(Fingerprinting techniques for classification and identification ofbacteria, SDS-PAGE of whole cell protein). The software used in thetechnique for analyzing the SDS-PAGE electrophoresis gel is of crucialimportance since the degree of correlation between the species dependson the parameters and algorithms used by this software. Without goinginto the theoretical details, quantitative comparison of bands measuredby a densitometer and normalized by a computer is preferably made withthe Pearson correlation coefficient. The similarity matrix thus obtainedmay be organized with the aid of the UPGMA (unweighted pair group methodusing average linkage) algorithm that not only makes it possible togroup together the most similar profiles, but also to constructdendograms (see Kersters, Numerical methods in the classification andidentification of bacteria by electrophoresis, in Computer-assistedBacterial Systematics, 337-368, M. Goodfellow, A. G. O′Donnell Ed., JohnWiley and Sons Ltd, 1985).

Alternatively, the affiliation of said microorganisms of the presentinvention to the genus of Lactobacillus can be characterized with regardto ribosomal RNA in a so called Riboprinter.®. More preferably, theaffiliation of the newly identified species of the invention to thegenus Lactobacillus is demonstrated by comparing the nucleotide sequenceof the 16S ribosomal RNA of the bacteria of the invention, or of theirgenomic DNA which codes for the 16S ribosomal RNA, with those of othergenera and species of lactic acid bacteria known to date. Anotherpreferred alternative for determining the attachment of the newlyidentified species of the invention to the genus Lactobacillus is theuse of species-specific PCR primers that target the 16S-23S rRNA spacerregion. Another preferred alternative is RAPD-PCR (Nigatu et al. inAntonie van Leenwenhoek (79), 1-6, 2001) by virtue of that a strainspecific DNA pattern is generated which allows to determine theaffiliation of an identified microorganisms in accordance with thepresent invention to the genus of Lactobacillus. Further techniquesuseful for determining the affiliation of the microorganism of thepresent invention to the genus of Lactobacillus are restriction fragmentlength polymorphism (RFLP) (Giraffa et al., Int. J. Food Microbiol. 82(2003), 163-172), fingerprinting of the repetitive elements (Levers etal., FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 205 (2001) 31-36) or analysis of the fattyacid methyl ester (FAME) pattern of bacterial cells (Heyrman et al.,FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 181 (1991), 55-62). Alternatively, lactobacillican be determined by lectin typing (Annuk et al., J. Med. Microbiol. 50(2001), 1069-1074) or by analysis of their cell wall proteins (Gatti etal., Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 25 (1997), 345-348.

In accordance with the present invention, the microorganisms arepreferably lactic acid bacteria belonging to the genus of Lactobacillus,more preferably Lactobacillus species as described herein. Even morepreferably the Lactobacillus of the present invention is Lactobacillusparacasei or Lactobacillus rhamnosus. However, the Lactobacillus speciesare not limited thereto. In a particular preferred embodiment themicroorganisms of the present invention are “isolated” or “purified”.The term “isolated” means that the material is removed from its originalenvironment, e.g. the natural environment if it is naturally occurring.For example, a naturally-occurring microorganism, preferably aLactobacillus species, separated from some or all of the coexistingmaterials in the natural system, is isolated. Such a microorganism couldbe part of a composition, and is to be regarded as still being isolatedin that the composition is not part of its natural environment. The term“purified” does not require absolute purity; rather, it is intended as arelative definition. Individual microorganisms obtained from a libraryhave been conventionally purified to microbiological homogeneity, i.e.they grow as single colonies when streaked out on agar plates by methodsknown in the art. Preferably, the agar plates that are used for thispurpose are selective for Lactobacillus species. Such selective agarplates are known in the art.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention, themicroorganism of the present invention is selected from the groupconsisting of Lactobacillus paracasei or Lactobacillus rhamnosus havingDSMZ accession number DSM 16667 (L. paracasei ssp. paracasei Lb-Ob-K1),DSMZ accession number DSM 16668 (L. paracasei ssp. paracasei Lb-Ob-K2),DSMZ accession number DSM 16669 (L. paracasei ssp. paracasei Lb-Ob-K3),DSMZ accession number DSM 16670 (L. paracasei ssp. paracasei Lb-Ob-K4),DSMZ accession number DSM 16671 (L. paracasei ssp. paracasei Lb-Ob-K5),DSMZ accession number DSM 16672 (L. rhamnosus Lb-Ob-K6) and DSMaccession number DSM 16673 (L. rhamnosus Lb-Ob-K7) or a mutant orderivative thereof, wherein said mutant or derivative retains thecapability to specifically bind to Streptococcus mutans. The term“Lactobacillus paracasei or Lactobacillus rhamnosus having DSMZaccession number” relates to cells of a microorganism belonging to thespecies Lactobacillus paracasei or Latobacillus rhamnosus deposited withthe Deutsche Sammlung für Mikroorganismen and Zellkulturen GmbH (“DSMZ”)on Aug. 26, 2004 and having the following deposit numbers DSM 16667,16668, 16669, 16670, 16671, 16672 or 16673. The DSMZ is located at theMascheroder Weg 1 b, D-38124 Braunschweig, Germany. The aforementionedDSMZ deposits were made pursuant to the terms of the Budapest treaty onthe international recognition of the deposit of microorganisms forpurposes of patent procedure.

“A mutant or derivative” of the microorganism of the present invention,preferably of the deposited Lactobacillus paracasei or Lactobacillusrhamnosus cells has preferably the same characteristics as therespective deposited strains, i.e. it retains the capability tospecifically bind to Streptococcus mutans, preferably with the bindingcharacteristics as described hereinabove. For example, said derivativecan be genetically engineered. In the context of the present inventionthe term “genetically engineered” is used in its broadest sense formethods known to the person skilled in the art to modify desired nucleicacids in vitro and in vivo such that genetic modifications are affectedand genes are altered by recombinant DNA technology. Accordingly, it ispreferred that said methods comprise cloning, sequencing andtransformation of recombinant nucleic acids. For this purposeappropriate vectors including expression vectors for Lactobacillusspecies as, for example, described in EP-B1 506 789, EP-B1 316 677,EP-B1 251 064, EP-B1 218 230, EP-B1 133 046 or WO 89/01970.

Primers, enzymes, further host cells for cloning of intermediateconstructs and the like can be used and are known by the skilledartisan. Preferably, genetically engineered mutants comprise cells ofthe microorganism of the present invention, preferably of the depositedLactobacillus species harbouring recombinant nucleic acids eithercomprised in their bacterial chromosome or on (a) plasmid(s) orcomprised in their bacterial chromosome and/or (a) plasmid(s). Saidrecombinant nucleic acids are preferably foreign to the microorganism ofthe presnt invention. By “foreign” it is meant that the polynucleotideor nucleic acid molecule is either heterologous with respect to the hostcell, this means derived from a cell or organism with a differentgenomic background, or is homologous with respect to the host cell butlocated in a different genomic environment than the naturally occurringcounterpart of said nucleic acid molecule. This means that, if thenucleic acid molecule is homologous with respect to the host cell, it isnot located in its natural location in the genome of said host cell, inparticular it is surrounded by different genes. In this case thepolynucleotide may be either under the control of its own promoter orunder the control of a heterologous promoter. The vector or nucleic acidmolecule according to the invention which is present in the host cellmay either be integrated into the genome of the host cell or it may bemaintained in some form extrachromosomally. In this respect, it is alsoto be understood that the nucleic acid molecule of the invention can beused to restore or create a mutant gene via homologous recombination.

Plasmids may be low, medium or high copy number plasmids. Saidgenetically engineered mutants may harbour nucleic acids encoding aglucanase or mutanase which is capable of degrading the mutan specific1,3-glycosidic bond of saccharose subunits. Fungal glucanases are, forexample, described in Fuglsang et al., J. Biol. Chem. 275 (2000),2009-2018. It is also envisaged that genetically engineered mutantscomprise cells harbouring recombinant nucleic acids encoding antibodieswhich are preferably secreted or anchored in the bacterial cell wall.The term “antibody” encompasses intact antibodies as well as antibodyfragments thereof, like, separated light and heavy chains, Fab, Fab/c,Fv, Fab′, F(ab′)2. The term “antibody” also comprises humanizedantibodies, bifunctional antibodies and antibody constructs, like singlechain Fvs (scfv) or antibody-fusion proteins. It is also envisaged incontext of this invention that the term “antibody” comprises antibodyconstructs which may be expressed in cells of the derivative of thedeposited microorganism of the present invention, e.g. antibodyconstructs which may be transformed via, inter alia, vectors by methodsknown in the art. It is in particular envisaged that such antibodyconstructs specifically recognize, for example, the streptococcalantigen I/II. Such an approach is, for example, described in Krueger el:al., Nat. Biotechnol. 20 (2002), 702-706 or Shiroza, Biochim BiophysActa 1626 (2003), 57-64.

Secretion of the expressed antibody is preferably achieved byoperatively linking the nucleic acid encoding an antibody to a secretionsignal sequence. Anchoring in the bacterial cell wall could be achievedby making use of the mechanism of the enzyme sortase. Namely, surfaceproteins of gram-positive bacteria are linked to the bacterial cell wallby a mechanism that involves cleavage of a conserved Leu-Pro-X-Thr-Gly(LPXTG) motif and that occurs during assembly of the peptidoglycan cellwall. Accordingly, the nucleic acid molecule encoding an antibody may befused to a sequence encoding the aforementioned conserved motif which isused by sortase to anchor proteins in the bacterial cell wall.

It is also envisaged that the microorganism of the present invention,preferably the deposited Lactobacillus species be genetically modifiedto harbor a nucleic acid molecule encoding reuterin which is anantimicrobial substance effective, inter alia, against Streptococcusmutans. Reuterin is, for example, described in Talarico et al.,Chemother. 33 (1989), 674-679.

A mutant of the microorganism of the present invention, preferably amutant of the deposited Lactobacillus strains is preferably artificiallymutated. In accordance with the present invention, the term “mutated”means (a) permanent modification(s) of genetic material, i.e. nucleicacids, caused, for example, naturally or by physical means or chemicalcompounds/substances/agents, such as EMS or ENU. Said modificationsinclude point mutations, like transitions or transversions,deletion/insertion/addition of one or more bases within a nucleicacid/gene/chromosome thereby modifying the nucleic acid/gene/chromosomewhich can cause, inter alia, aberrant geneexpression/transcription/translation or inactive gene products,constitutive active/inactive gene products leading to e.g.dominant-negative effects. Preferablly, a mutation leads to in increasedcapability of specifically binding Streptococcus mutans. Thus, it isalso preferred that the mutant cells of the deposited microorganismwhich harbour (a) mutation(s) in (a) desired gene(s) or in which (a)mutation(s) in (a) desired gene(s) is induced by methods known to theperson skilled in the art. It is also known in the prior art thatmutated or genetically engineered bacterial cells can be selected by anysuitable method/phenotype. In the context of the present invention, amutant having an increased capability to specifically bind toStreptococcus mutans can be tested in accordance with the methodsdescribed in the appended Examples. The term “mutant”, however, alsoincludes cells of the microorganism of the present invention, preferablycells of the deposited microorganism which harbour naturally-occurring,spontaneous mutations in their genome, i.e. bacterial chromosome.“Spontaneous mutations” are mutations that arise naturally, i.e.,without direct genetic manipulation by man, or by exposure to a mutagen.Selection of spontaneous mutants can be accomplished by culturing thestrain and selecting the desired variants by, for example, the variantbacterium's capability to show an improved . Methods for selection ofspontaneous mutants are well known in the art (see, for example,Sambrook, Russell “Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual”, Cold SpringHarbor Laboratory, N.Y. (2001); Ausubel, “Current Protocols in MolecularBiology”, Green Publishing Associates and Wiley Interscience, N.Y.(1989)). For example, such mutations may occur during cultivation, forexample, during the normal cell division process coupled with DNAreplication or during passaging and/or preserving the mutant of themicroorganism of the present invention.

The oral cavity is home to many different species of streptococci and itis not surprising, considering they share the same habitat, that theyhave many features in common. Thus, it is preferable that themicroorganism of the present invention binds specifically toStreptococcus mutans. Accordingly, the term “specifically binding” inthe context of the present invention means that the microorganism of thepresent invention, preferably a microorganism belonging to the genus ofLactobacillus binds to Streptococcus mutans but does not bind to mostother, preferably to no other species belonging to the genusStreptococcus. Other species belonging to the genus of Streptococcus arethose described in Example 4. Namely, the microorganism of the presentinvention does preferably not bind to bacteria belonging to the speciesof Streptococcus salivarius, preferably belonging to the subspeciesthermophilus, to the species Streptococcus oralis, to the speciesStreptococcus mitis and/or to the species Streptococcus sanguinis. Morepreferably, it does not bind to Streptococcus salivarius ssp.thermophilus (identified by API 50 CH (Biomerieux, France),Streptococcus oralis (DSMZ 20066), Streptococcus oralis (DSMZ 20395),Streptococcus oralis (DSMZ 20627), Streptococcus mitis (DSMZ 12643)and/or Streptococcus sanguinis (DSMZ 20567). In addition, saidmicroorganism preferably does not bind to bacteria belonging to generaother than Streptococcus, e.g. belonging to the genus of Staphylococcus.More preferably, it does not bind to bacteria belonging to the speciesStaphylococcus epidermidis. Most preferably, it does not bind toStaphylococcus epidermidis (DSMZ 1798) and/or Staphylococcus epidermidis(DSMZ 20044) For the test of specific binding, preferably each of theaforementioned oral bacteria are preferably mixed in a volumetric ratioof 3:1 with Lactobacillus cultures of the present invention andaggregation is preferably assayed as described herein and for example inExample 3.

It was shown that the Lactobacillus paracasei, preferably L. paracaseissp. paracasei of the present invention does not aggregate any of theaforementioned oral bacterial belonging to the genus of Streptococcusand it does not bind the bacteria belonging to the genus ofStaphylococcus mentioned herein above. The Lactobacillus rhamnosusstrains of the present invention were shown to not aggregate all of theabove mentioned Streptococcus and Staphylococcus species, apart fromStreptococcus salivarius ssp. thermophilus. Preferably the term“specifically binding” also means that a microorganism of the presentinvention binds to such Streptococcus mutans strains which have thecapability to be a cariogenic dental pathogen.

The specific binding reaction comprises binding and, preferably,aggregating Streptococcus mutans cells as described herein by themicroorganism of the present invention in the mouth. This specificbinding leads, in consequence, to flushing away the Streptococcus mutanscells by, for example, salivary flow or by a mouth rinse or mouth washand the like as described herein. The mouth defines the oral cavity ofmammals, preferably humans or animals such as pets, composed by the oralmucosa (gums, lips, cheeks, palate and floor of the mouth), the tongueand the teeth (including artificial structures). Preferably, thespecific binding reaction of the microorganisms of the present inventionto Streptococcus mutans prevents Streptococcus mutant cells fromattaching to the surface of a tooth or teeth (or while not being boundby theory could lead to detachment of Streptococcus mutans cells fromthe surface of a tooth or teeth) In consequence, the specific bindingreaction results in flushing away Streptococcus mutans cells out of themouth, thereby diminishing the causative agent of caries and, thus,preventing and/or treating caries.

It is believed that the microorganism of the present invention may bindspecifically to the streptococcal antigen I/II which is also known asantigen B, IF, P1, SR, MSL-1 or PAc. However, the microorganism of thepresent invention may bind to any other protein or surface structure ofS. mutans , thereby aggregating S. mutans and flushing it out of theoral cavity as described herein. It is known that Streptococcus mutantsbinds via said streptococcal antigen I/II to the pellicle. Accordingly,when the microorganism of the present invention may bind, for example,to said streptococcal antigen I/II, Streptococcus mutans is hampered tobind to the surface of teeth which thus helps to prevent and/or treatcaries.

The pellicle is a clear, thin covering containing proteins and lipids(fats) found in saliva. It is formed within seconds after a toothsurface is cleaned. Pellicle formation is the first step in dentalplaque formation. Dental plaque is a soft deposit that accumulates onthe teeth. Plaque can be defined as a complex microbial community, withgreater than 10¹⁰ bacteria per milligram. It has been estimated that asmany as 400 distinct bacterial species may be found in plaque. Inaddition to the bacterial cells, plaque contains a small number ofepithelial cells, leukocytes, and macrophages. The cells are containedwithin an extracellular matrix, which is formed from bacterial productsand saliva. The extracellular matrix contains protein, polysaccharideand lipids. One of the proteins present in saliva is agglutinin which ison the one hand thought to lead to a partial removal of Streptococcusmutans from the mouth, however, is on the other hand suspected tofacilitate adhesion of Streptococcus mutans to the surface of teeth,thereby facilitating the initial attachment of Streptococcus mutans toteeth and, thus, onset of caries.

Whether the microorganism of the present invention specifically binds toStreptococcus mutans as defined herein above can easily be tested, interalia, by comparing the reaction of said microorganism of the presentinvention with S. mutans cells with a microorganism also belonging tothe genus of Lactobacillus that does not specifically bind toStreptococcus mutans by preferably employing the method as described inthe appended Examples herein below.

Preferably, the microorganism of the present invention is capable ofspecifically binding to Streptococcus mutans serotype c (DSMZ 20523)and/or serotype e (NCTC 10923) and/or serotype f (NCTC 11060). Thismeans that the microorganism of the present invention binds toStreptococcus mutans serotype c, serotype e or serotype f. Preferably,this means that the microorganism of the present invention binds toStreptococcus mutans serotype c and serotype e or serotype f. This alsomeans that the microorganism of the present invention binds toStreptococcus mutans serotype c and serotype f or serotype e or that themicroorganism of the present invention binds to Streptococcus mutansserotype e and serotype f or c. More preferably this means that themicroorganism of the present invention binds to Streptococcus mutansserotype c, serotype e and serotype f. In accordance with the presentinvention a “serotype” is an antigenic property of a bacterial cell,preferably of a Streptococcus mutans cell identified by serologicalmethods known in the art.

As described above, the specific binding of the microorganism of thepresent invention to Streptococcus mutans is resistant to heattreatment. Accordingly, the microorganism of the present invention istreated with heat, for example, at a temperature above 15° C. or 37° C.More preferably, the cells are incubated at a temperature of more than55° C., even more preferably of more than 65° C., particularly preferredof more than 95° C. and most preferred at 121° C. After cooling down,the capability of the microorganism of the present invention tospecifically bind the S. mutans is determined as described herein.

The corresponding temperature can depend on the specific Lactobacillusspecies but can be easily determined by the skilled person by routineexperimentation, e.g. by incubating the corresponding cells at differenttemperatures and determining the amount of Lactobacillus cells which isstill capable of specifically binding to Streptococcus mutans by usingmethods as those shown in the examples herein.

Generally, the heat treatment should last for a period of time of atleast 1 minute. Preferably, the heat treatment lasts for a period oftime of at least n minutes, wherein n is an integer in the range of 2 to60, with n=20 being particularly preferred. However, there is inprinciple no upper limit for the time of incubation. However, it ispreferably no longer than 4, 3, 2 or 1 hour(s). The most preferred heattreatment is at least 20 minutes at a temperature of 121° C. in asaturated steam having an atmospheric pressure of 2 bar. The mostpreferred heat treatment is considered as abolishing any function of aprotein and of any vitality of cells which thus distinguishes themicroorganism of the present invention from other microorganism in thatit is still capable of the specifically binding to S. mutans. Hence, itis very useful for any food, feed, drink or composition of the presentinvention if it is desired that the microorganism should not be alive.

The specific binding of the microorganism of the present invention isfurthermore characterized by its resistance to protease treatment whichis treatment with a protease selected from the group consisting ofpronase E, proteinase K, trypsin and chymotrypsin. These proteinases areproteases which show no specificity and, thus, are considered asdegrading any protein being on the cell surface of a microorganism.Other proteases, which are known to have preferences for certainpatterns of amino acid residues are elastase, thrombin, aminopeptidaseI, carboxypeptidase, dostripain, endoproteinase, papain, pepsin orproteases. The latter proteases could also be used to test whether thespecific binding of the microorganism of the present invention to S.mutans is resistant to the latter more specific proteases. Thus, afterprotease treatment which is described in the appended Examples, themicroorganism of the present invention is still capable of specificallybinding to Streptococcus mutans.

In addition, the specific binding of the microorganism of the presentinvention is furthermore characterized by its dependency on calcium.Preferably, the specific binding takes place in the presence of aconcentration of calcium ions between 0.05 mM and 500 mM, preferablybetween 1 mM and 100 mM. Particularly preferred the calciumconcentration is between 2 mM and 30 mM. The dependency of the specificbinding on calcium can be tested as described in the appended Examples.

Moreover, the specific binding to the microorganism of the presentinvention is maintained over a pH range between 4.0 and 9.0, preferablybetween 4.0 and 7.0 In particular, the pH value at which the specificbinding takes still place is preferably 4.5. Assaying of the maintenanceof the specific binding over the pH range described above is shown inthe appended Examples.

Furthermore, the specific binding is independent of magnesium. Thus, itis not necessary that magnesium ions or magnesium salts are presentwhich is demonstrated in the appended Examples.

A still further characteristic of the specific binding is its occurrencein the presence of saliva. Saliva is an exogenous secrete which issynthesized by the salivary glands. It is a complex liquid containing,apart from about 99% water a multiplicity of organic and inorganiccompounds. Physiological ingredients of saliva are, inter alia, enzymes,e.g., amylases, carboanhydrases, lysozyme, peroxidases or proteins,e.g., mucins, lactoferrin, proline-rich proteins, cystatines, histatinesor statherines or soluble IgA. Thus, although a variety of potentiallyinterfering substances are present in saliva, the specific binding ofthe microorganism of the present invention was not disturbed orhampered. For testing the specific binding in the presence of saliva, itis preferred that saliva is used which contains preferably theStreptococcus species described in Example 4 and/or the Staphylococcusspecies of Example 4. If, however, Lactobacillus rhamnosus species ofthe present invention are tested for specific binding to S. mutans inthe presence of saliva, it is preferred that Streptococcus salivariusssp. thermophilus is omitted. The specific binding is assayed asdescribed herein.

The aforementioned characteristics of the microorganism of the presentinvention belonging to the group of lactic acid bacteria renders it tobe a robust and effective agent for preventing and/or treating cariessince it is mainly administered in various forms to the mouth includingthe oral cavity and teeth where, inter alia, saliva including certainproteases and low pH values after ingestion of carbohydrate containingfood stuff is present. Moreover, the resistance to heat has beneficialeffects in adding the microorganism of the present invention as additiveto food stuff during the preparation of said food stuff. Namely, foodstuff is often heat sterilized, pre-cooked, pasteurized and the likewhich is detrimental for viability of microorganisms.

In another aspect the present invention relates to an analog or fragmentof the microorganism of the present invention, which is thermallyinactivated or lyophilized, wherein said analog or fragment retains thecapability of specifically binding Streptococcus mutans.

According to the present invention the term “analog of the microorganismof the present invention” includes a dead or inactivated cell of themicroorganism of the present invention, preferably of the Lactobacillusspecies disclosed herein which is no longer capable to form a singlecolony on a plate specific for microorganisms belonging to the genus ofLactobacillus. Said dead or inactivated cell may have either an intactor broken cell membrane. Methods for killing or inactivating cells ofthe microorganism of the present invention are known in the art.El-Nezami et al., J. Food Prot. 61 (1998), 466-468 describes a methodfor inactivating Lactobacillus species by UV-irradiation. Preferably,the cells of the microorganism of the present invention are thermallyinactivated or lyophilised as described in the appended Examples.Lyophilization of the cells of the present invention has the advantagethat they can be easily stored and handled while retaining theircapability to specifically bind to S. mutans. Moreover, lyophilisedcells can be grown again when applied under conditions known in the artto appropriate liquid or solid media. Lyophilization is done by methodsknown in the art. Preferably, it is carried out for at least 2 hours atroom temperature, i.e. any temperature between 16° C. and 25° C.Moreover, the lyophilized cells of the microorganism of the presentinvention are stable for at least 4 weeks at a temperature of 4° C. soas to still specifically bind to S. mutans as is shown in Example 7herein below. Thermal inactivation can be achieved by incubating thecells of the microorganism of the present invention for at least 2 hoursat a temperature of 170° C. Yet, thermal inactivation is preferablyachieved by autoclaving said cells at a temperature of 121° C. for atleast 20 minutes in the presence of saturated steam at an atmosphericpressure of 2 bar. In the alternative, thermal inactivation of the cellsof the microorganism of the present invention is achieved by freezingsaid cells for at least 4 weeks, 3 weeks, 2 weeks, 1 week, 12 hours, 6hours, 2 hours or 1 hour at −20° C. It is preferred that at least 70%,75% or 80%, more preferably 85%, 90% or 95% and particularly preferredat least 97%, 98%, 99% and more particularly preferred, 99.1%, 99.2%,99.3%, 99.4%, 99.5%, 99.6%, 99.7%, 99.8% or 99.9% and most particularlypreferred 100% of the cells of the analog of the microorganism of thepresent invention are dead or inactivated, however, they have still thecapability to specifically bind to S. mutans. Whether the analog orfragment of the microorganism of the present invention is indeed dead orinactivated can be tested by methods known in the art, for example, by atest for viability.

The term “analog of the microorganism of the present invention” alsoencompasses lysates or fractions of the microorganism of the presentinvention, preferably of the Lactobacillus species disclosed herein.According to the present invention the term “lysate” means a solution orsuspension in an aqueous medium of cells of the microorganism of thepresent invention that are broken. However, the term should not beconstrued in any limiting way. The cell lysate comprises, e.g.,macromolecules, like DNA, RNA, proteins, peptides, carbohydrates, lipidsand the like and/or micromolecules, like amino acids, sugars, lipidacids and the like, or fractions of it. Additionally, said lysatecomprises cell debris which may be of smooth or granular structure.Methods for preparing cell lysates of microorganism are known in theart, for example, by employing French press, cells mill using glass oriron beads or enzymatic cell lysis and the like. In addition, lysingcells relates to various methods known in the art for opening/destroyingcells. The method for lysing a cell is not important and any method thatcan achieve lysis of the cells of the microorganism of the presentinvention may be employed. An appropriate one can be chosen by theperson skilled in the art, e.g. opening/destruction of cells can be doneenzymatically, chemically or physically. Non-limiting examples forenzymes and enzyme cocktails are proteases, like proteinase K, lipasesor glycosidases; non-limiting examples for chemicals are ionophores,detergents, like sodium dodecyl sulfate, acids or bases; andnon-limiting examples of physical means are high pressure, likeFrench-pressing, osmolarity, temperature, like heat or cold.Additionally, a method employing an appropriate combination of an enzymeother than the proteolytic enzyme, an acid, a base and the like may alsobe utilized. For example, the cells of the microorganism of the presentinvention are lysed by freezing and thawing, more preferably freezing attemperatures below −70° C. and thawing at temperatures of more than 30°C., particularly freezing is preferred at temperatures below −75° C. andthawing is preferred at temperatures of more than 35° C. and mostpreferred are temperatures for freezing below −80° C. and temperaturesfor thawing of more than 37° C. It is also preferred that saidfreezing/thawing is repeated for at least 1 time, more preferably for atleast 2 times, even more preferred for at least 3 times, particularlypreferred for at least 4 times and most preferred for at least 5 times.

Accordingly, those skilled in the art can prepare the desired lysates byreferring to the above general explanations, and appropriately modifyingor altering those methods, if necessary. Preferably, the aqueous mediumused for the lysates as described is water, physiological saline, or abuffer solution. An advantage of a bacterial cell lysate is that it canbe easily produced and stored cost efficiently since less technicalfacilities are needed. According to the invention, lysates are alsopreparations of fractions of molecules from the above-mentioned lysates.These fractions can be obtained by methods known to those skilled in theart, e.g., chromatography, including, e.g., affinity chromatography,ion-exchange chromatography, size-exclusion chromatography, reversedphase-chromatography, and chromatography with other chromatographicmaterial in column or batch methods, other fractionation methods, e.g.,filtration methods, e.g., ultrafiltration, dialysis, dialysis andconcentration with size-exclusion in centrifugation, centrifugation indensity-gradients or step matrices, precipitation, e.g., affinityprecipitations, salting-in or salting-out(ammoniumsulfate-precipitation), alcoholic precipitations or otherproteinchemical, molecular biological, biochemical, immunological,chemical or physical methods to separate above components of thelysates. In a preferred embodiment those fractions which are moreimmunogenic than others are preferred. Those skilled in the art are ableto choose a suitable method and determine its immunogenic potential byreferring to the above general explanations and specific explanations inthe examples herein, and appropriately modifying or altering thosemethods, if necessary.

“A fragment of the microorganism of the present invention” encompassesany part of the cells of the microorganism of the present invention.Preferably, said fragment is a membrane fraction obtained by amembrane-preparation. Membrane preparations of microorganisms belongingto the genus of Lactobacillus can be obtained by methods known in theart, for example, by employing the method described in Rollan et al.,Int. J. Food Microbiol. 70 (2001), 303-307, Matsuguchi et al., Clin.Diagn. Lab. Immunol. 10 (2003), 259-266 or Stentz et al., Appl. Environ.Microbiol. 66 (2000), 4272-4278 or Varmanen et al., J. Bacteriology 182(2000), 146-154. Alternatively, a whole cell preparation is alsoenvisaged. Preferably, the herein described derivative or fragment ofthe microorganism of the present invention retains the capability ofspecifically binding to Streptococcus mutans which is described indetail herein.

Another aspect of the present invention is a composition comprising amicroorganism belonging to the group of lactic acid bacteria which iscapable of specifically binding to Streptococcus mutans or a mutant,derivative, analog or fragment of this microorganism. Preferably, thismicroorganism is a microorganism of the present invention or a mutant orderivative thereof or said analog or fragment of said microorganism. Ina preferred embodiment, said composition comprises a microorganism asdescribed above in an amount between 10² to 10¹² cells, preferably 10³to 10⁸ cells per mg in a solid form of the composition. Preferably, thismicroorganism is a microorganism of the present invention. In case of aliquid form of compositions, the amount of the microorganisms is between10² to 10¹³ cells per ml. However, for specific compositions the amountof the microorganism may be different as is described herein. Apreferred composition of the present invention does not contain lactosein a range between 1% (w/w) and 6% (w/w). It is also preferred that thecomposition contains not more than 1%(w/w) lactose, e.g. it containsless than 1%, preferably less than 0.9% (w/w), 0.8% (w/w) lactose, etc.or that the composition contains more than 6%, 7%, 8% etc. (w/w)lactose. Alternatively, but also preferred is that the composition doesnot contain lactose.

In a still further aspect, the present invention provides a method forthe production of an anticariogenic composition comprising the steps offormulating a microorganism belonging to the group of lactic acidbacteria which is capable of specifically binding to Streptococcusmutans or a mutant, derivative, analog or fragment of this microorganismwith a cosmetically, orally or pharmaceutical acceptable carrier orexcipient. Preferably, this microorganism is a microorganism of thepresent invention and the mutant, derivative, analog or fragment is oneof those of the present invention. A preferred anticariogeniccomposition of the present invention does not contain lactose in a rangebetween 1% (w/w) and 6% (w/w). It is also preferred that the compositioncontains not more than 1%(w/w) lactose, e.g. it contains less than 1%,preferably less than 0.9% (w/w), 0.8% (w/w) lactose, etc. or that theanticariogenic composition contains more than 6%, 7%, 8% etc. (w/w)lactose. Alternatively, but also preferred is that the anticariogeniccomposition does not contain lactose.

The term “composition”, as used in accordance with the presentinvention, relates to (a) composition(s) which comprise(s) at least onemicroorganism or mutant or derivative as described above, preferably ofthe present invention or analog or fragment of said microorganism. It isenvisaged that the compositions of the present invention which aredescribed herein below comprise the aforementioned ingredients in anycombination. It may, optionally, comprise at least one furtheringredient suitable for preventing and/or treating caries. Accordingly,it may optionally comprise any combination of the hereinafter describedfurther ingredients. The term “ingredients suitable for preventingand/or treating caries” encompasses compounds or compositions and/orcombinations thereof which either inhibit the binding of Streptococcusmutans to the surface of teeth, to pellicles and/or which inactivateStreptococcus mutans. More preferably, said term encompasses compoundsor compositions and/or combinations thereof which may inhibit theadhesion of Streptococcus mutans to the surface of teeth, inhibit theactivity of glycosyltransferases of Streptococcus mutans, inhibit orinactivate Streptococcus mutans, inhibit the agglutinin-dependentbinding of Streptococcus mutans and/or inhibit the saccharose-dependentbinding of Streptococcus mutans as will be described below.

In particular, it is envisaged that the composition optionally furthercomprises compounds which inhibit the adhesion of Streptococcus mutansto the tooth surface. Accordingly, it is envisaged that such a compoundis an inhibitor of the competence signal peptide (CSP) of Streptococcusmutans. Said inhibitor is described in CA 2,302,861 as being aderivative or fragment of said CSP which competitively inhibits bindingof said CSP to its natural receptor, a histidine kinase receptor, orwhich is an antibody against said CSP. Said inhibitor prevents thedevelopment of a biofilm environment of dental plaque on the surface ofteeth and, thus, prevents binding of Streptococcus mutans.Alternatively, the composition of the present invention may optionallyfurther comprise polypeptide fragments of the Streptococcus mutans I/IIantigen that are useful in treating and/or preventing dental caries.Such polypeptide fragments are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,433.Namely, said polypeptide fragments may have the ability to adhere to themammalian tooth surface by binding to agglutinin in a competitive mannerwith naturally occurring Streptococcus mutans antigen I/II, thuspreventing or diminishing the adhesion of S. mutans to the tooth. Someof the peptides of U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,433 have been shown to inhibitadhesion of S. mutans to a tooth surface model (whole human salivaadsorbed to the wells of polystyrene microtitre plates or hydroxyapatitebeads). Accordingly, U.S. Pat. No. 6,500,433 describes these peptides tocomprise one or more adhesion sites and will adhere to a mammalian toothin a competitive manner with naturally occurring SA I/II. Anotheroptional ingredient of the composition of the present invention is thefimbrial-associated adhesion protein from Streptococus mutans, SmaA, ora fragment thereof as described in WO 00/66616. The SmaA protein whichis involved in the present invention is an adhesion from fimbriae of S.mutans which mediates attachment of the bacteria to the salivarypellicle, believed to be via binding to the 52 kd salivary protein,amylase. The mature SmaA protein has a molecular weight of about 65kilodaltons (kd) as measured on a reducing polyacrylamide gel, exhibitsthe ability to bind amylase, and is the major immunodominant fimbrialprotein of S. mutans. Accordingy, SmaA is believed to compete withStreptococcus mutans for adhesion sites on the surface of teeth.

As described above, it is envisaged that compounds which inhibitStreptococcus mutans glycosyltransferase activity are optionally furthercomprised in the composition of the present invention. For example, US2004/0057908 describes a mixture of terpenoids and flavonoids whichinhibit the activity of said glycosyltransferases. Duarte et al., Biol.Pharm. Bull. 26 (2003), 527-531 describe a novel type of propolis andits chemical fractions on glycosyltransferases and on growth andadherence of Streptococcus mutans. Accordingly, said novel type ofpropolis and its chemical fractions are contemplated to be an optionalfurther ingredient of the composition of the present invention. Koo etal., J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 52 (2003), 782-789 describe that apigeninand tt-farnesol inhibit Streptococcus mutans biofilm accumulation andpolysaccharide production. Hence, apigenein and tt-farnesol arecontemplated to be optionally comprised in the composition of thepresent invention. Since carbohydrate fatty acid esters are described inDevulapalle et al., Carbohydr. Res. 339 (2004), 1029-1034 to effectglycosyltransferase activity, said carbohydrate fatty acid esters arecontemplated to be optionally comprised in the composition of thepresent invention.

Direct inhibition of Streptococcus mutans is, for example, described inWO 2004/000222. Namely, genetically modified bacteriophages specific forStreptococcus mutans are used for treating bacterial caries caused byStreptococcus mutans. WO 2004/017988 describes a composition ofbiologically active protease and at least one biologically activeglycosidase which is used for treating bacterial caries. Imazato et al.,Biomaterials 24 (2003), 3605-3609 describes thatmethacryloyloxydodecylpyridinium bromide (MDPB) is useful for inhibitinggrowth of Streptococcus mutans. Accordingly, it is envisaged that theaforementioned compounds may optionally be further comprised in thecomposition of the present invention.

Bovine milk lactoferrin described by Mitoma et al., J. Biol. Chem. 276(2001), 18060-18065 or extracts of Helichrysum italicum described byNostro et al., Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 38 (2004), 423-427 which inhibitagglutinin-dependent or saccharose-dependent binding of Streptococcusmutans are contemplated to be optionally further comprised in thecomposition of the present invention.

Moreover, the composition of the present invention may optionallyfurther comprise a mutanase (1,3-glucanase) which is, for example,described in DE 2152620 or Fuglsang (2000), loc. cit. or an antibioticagainst Streptococcus mutans, for example, those described in U.S. Pat.No. 6,342,385; U.S. Pat. No. 5,932,469; U.S. Pat. No. 5,872,001 or U.S.Pat. No. 5 833 958. In addition, it is noted that the composition of thepresent invention may optionally comprise one or more of theaforementioned optional ingredients which are suitable for preventingand/or treating caries. Thus, said composition may contain at least two,three, four, five, etc., i.e. “n” optional ingredients, wherein “n” isan integer greater than 2 which is not limited. Said optionalingredients may be combined in any possible combination.

The composition may be in solid, liquid or gaseous form and may be,inter alia, in the form of (a) powder(s), (a) tablet(s), (a) filmpreparation(s), (a) solution(s) (an) aerosol(s), granules, pills,suspensions, emulsions, capsules, syrups, liquids, elixirs, extracts,tincture or fluid extracts or in a form which is particularly suitablefor oral administration. Liquid preparations suitable for oraladministration, for example syrups can be prepared, using water,conventional saccharides such as sucrose, sorbitol and fructose, glycolssuch as polyethylene glycol and propylene glycol, oils such as sesameseed oil, olive oil and soybean oil, antiseptics such asp-hydroxybenzoate ester, preservatives such as p-hydroxybenzoatederivatives, for example p-hydroxybenzoate methyl and sodium benzoate,and other materials such as flavors, for example strawberry flavor orpeppermint.

Further, preparations suitable for oral administration, for exampletablets, powders and granules can be produced, using conventionalsaccharides such as sucrose, glucose, mannitol, and sorbitol, starchsuch as potato, wheat and corn, inorganic materials such as calciumcarbonate, calcium sulfate, sodium hydrogen carbonate, and sodiumchloride, plant powders such as crystal cellulose, licorice powder andgentian powder, excipients such as pinedex, disintegrators such asstarch, agar, gelatin powder, crystal cellulose, carmellose sodium,carmellose calcium, calcium carbonate, sodium hydrogen carbonate andsodium alginate, lubricants such as magnesium stearate, talc,hydrogenated vegetable oils, macrogol, and silicone oil, binders such aspolyvinyl alcohol, hydroxypropyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, ethylcellulose, carmellose, gelatin, and starch glue fluid, surfactants suchas fatty acid ester, and plasticizers such as glycerin. A filmpreparation(s) can be prepared by methods known in the art. An examplefor the preparation of a film is given in Example 19 herein.

In case of ordinary oral administration, the dose of the microorganismor analog or fragment of the present invention could be (in dry weight)as described hereinabove with respect to the cell number or with respectto the mass, for example, 1 μg to 50 g, 1 μg to 10 g, 1 μg to 5 mg, 1 μgto 1 mg or any other weight per subject per day or in several portionsdaily. In case of dosing to non-human animals, further, the dose variesdepending on the age and species of an animal and the nature or severityof the symptom thereof. Without any specific limitation, the dose foranimals is 0.1 mg to 10 g per 1 kg body weight, preferably 1 mg to 1 gper 1 kg body weight once daily or in several portions daily. However,these doses and the number of dosages vary depending on the individualconditions.

Preferably, the composition of the present invention is a cosmeticcomposition further comprising a cosmetically acceptable carrier orexcipient. More preferably, said cosmetic composition is a dentifrice,chewing gum, lozenge, mouth wash, mouse rinse or dental floss, which hasan anticariogenic activity. A preferred cosmetic composition of thepresent invention does not contain lactose in a range between 1% (w/w)and 6% (w/w). It is also preferred that the cosmetic compositioncontains not more than 1%(w/w) lactose, e.g. it contains less than 1%,preferably less than 0.9% (w/w), 0.8% (w/w) lactose, etc. or that thecosmetic composition contains more than 6%, 7%, 8% etc. (w/w) lactose.Alternatively, but also preferred is that the cosmetic composition doesnot contain lactose.

The cosmetic composition of the present invention comprises themicroorganism, mutant, derivative, analog or fragment thereof asdescribed above in connection with the composition of the invention andfurther a cosmetically or orally acceptable carrier. Preferably, asmentioned in connection with the composition of the present inventionthe microorganism, mutant, derivative, analog or fragment thereof is amicroorganism, mutant, derivative, analog or fragment of the presentinvention. Preferably the cosmetic composition of the present inventionis for use in oral applications. Accordingly, it may be in the form of atoothpaste, dentifrice, tooth powder, topical oral gel, mouth rinse,denture product, mouthspray, lozenge, oral tablet, or chewing gum.

The term “orally or cosmetically acceptable carrier” as used hereinmeans a suitable vehicle, which can be used to apply the presentcompositions to the oral cavity in a safe and effective manner. Suchvehicle may include materials such as fluoride ion sources, additionalanticalculus agents, buffers, other abrasive materials, peroxidesources, alkali metal bicarbonate salts, thickening materials,humectants, water, surfactants, titanium dioxide, flavor system,sweetening agents, xylitol, coloring agents, and mixtures thereof. Theterm “safe and effective amount” as used herein, means a sufficientamount to clean teeth and reduce stain/plaque/gingivitis/calculuswithout harming the tissues and structures of the oral cavity.

The pH of the present herein described compositions ranges preferablyfrom about 3.0 to about 9.0, with the preferred pH being from about 5.5to about 9.0 and the most preferred pH being 7.0 to about 8.5 or 9.0.

The cosmetical composition is a product, which in the ordinary course ofusage, is not intentionally swallowed for purposes of systemicadministration of particular therapeutic agents, but is rather retainedin the oral cavity for a time sufficient to contact substantially all ofthe dental surfaces and/or oral tissues for purposes of oral activity.The oral composition may be a single phase oral composition or may be acombination of two or more oral compositions.

The term “dentifrice”, as used herein, means paste, gel, or liquidformulations unless otherwise specified. The dentifrice composition maybe in any desired form, such as deep striped, surface striped,multilayered, having the gel surrounding the paste, or any combinationthereof. The dentifrice composition may be contained in a physicallyseparated compartment of a dispenser and dispensed side-by-side.Dentifrice compositions are, for example, described in EP-B1 0 617 608.

Preferred dentifrice compositions are described in Examples 13 to 16. Inaddition to the above described components, the embodiments of thisinvention can contain a variety of optional dentifrice ingredients someof which are described below. Optional ingredients include, for example,but are not limited to, adhesives, sudsing agents, flavouring agents,sweetening agents, additional antiplaque agents, additional abrasives,and colouring agents. These and other optional components are furtherdescribed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,597; U.S. Pat. No.4,885,155; U.S. Pat. No. 3,959,458; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,937,807.

For example, the toothpaste may include surfactants, chelating agents,fluoride sources, teeth whitening actives and teeth color modifyingsubstances, thickening agents, humectants, flavouring and sweeteningagents, alkali metal bicarbonate salt, miscellaneous carriers and/orother active agents.

One of the preferred optional agents of the present invention is asurfactant, preferably one selected from the group consisting ofsarcosinate surfactants, iselhionate surfactants and tauratesurfactants. Preferred for use herein are alkali metal or ammonium saltsof these surfactants. Most preferred herein are the sodium and potassiumsalts of the following: lauroyl sarcosinate, myristoyl sarcosinate,palmitoyl sarcosinate, stearoyl sarcosinate and oleoyl sarcosinate.

Another preferred optional agent is a chelating agent such as tartaricacid and pharmaceutically-acceptable salts thereof, citric acid andalkali metal citrates and mixtures thereof. Chelating agents are able tocomplex calcium found in the cell walls of the bacteria. Chelatingagents can also disrupt plaque by removing calcium from the calciumbridges, which help hold this biomass intact.

It is common to have an additional water-soluble fluoride compoundpresent in dentifrices and other oral compositions in an amountsufficient to give a fluoride ion concentration in the composition at25° C., and/or when it is used of from about 0.0025% to about 5.0% byweight, preferably from about 0.005% to about 2.0% by weight, to provideadditional anticaries effectiveness. A wide variety of fluorideion-yielding materials can be employed as sources of soluble fluoride inthe present compositions. Examples of suitable fluoride ion-yieldingmaterials are found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,535,421 and U.S. Pat. No.3,678,154. Representative fluoride ion sources include stannousfluoride, sodium fluoride, potassium fluoride, sodiummonofluorophosphate and many others. Stannous fluoride and sodiumfluoride are particularly preferred, as well as mixtures thereof.

Teeth whitening actives that may be used in the oral care compositionsof the present invention include bleaching or oxidizing agents such asperoxides, perborates, percarbonates, peroxyacids, persulfates, metalchlorites, and combinations thereof. Suitable peroxide compounds includehydrogen peroxide, urea peroxide, calcium peroxide, and mixturesthereof. A preferred percarbonate is sodium percarbonate. Other suitablewhitening agents include potassium, ammonium, sodium and lithiumpersulfates and perborate mono- and tetrahydrates, and sodiumpyrophosphate peroxyhydrate. Suitable metal chlorites include calciumchlorite, barium chlorite, magnesium chlorite, lithium chlorite, sodiumchlorite, and potassium chlorite. The preferred chlorite is sodiumchlorite. Additional whitening actives may be hypochlorite and chlorinedioxide. In addition to bleaching agents as teeth whitening agents,teeth color modifying substances may be considered among the oral careactives useful in the present invention. These substances are suitablefor modifying the color of the teeth to satisfy the consumer. Thesesubstances comprise particles that when applied on the l:ooth surfacemodify that surface in terms of absorption and, or reflection of light.Such particles provide an appearance benefit when a film containing suchparticles is applied over the surfaces of a tooth or teeth.

In preparing toothpaste or gels, it is necessary to add some thickeningmaterial to provide a desirable consistency of the composition, toprovide desirable active release characteristics upon use, to provideshelf stability, and to provide stability of the composition, etc.Preferred thickening agents are carboxyvinyl polymers, carrageenan,hydroxyethyl cellulose, laponite and water soluble salts of celluloseethers such as sodium carboxymethylcellulose and sodium carboxymethylhydroxyethyl cellulose. Natural gums such as gum karaya, xanthan gum,gum arabic, and gum tragacanth can also be used. Colloidal magnesiumaluminum silicate or finely divided silica can be used as part of thethickening agent to further improve texture.

Another optional component of the topical, oral carriers of thecompositions of the subject invention is a humectant. The humectantserves to keep toothpaste compositions from hardening upon exposure toair, to give compositions a moist feel to the mouth, and, for particularhumectants, to impart desirable sweetness of flavor to toothpastecompositions. The humectant, on a pure humectant basis, generallycomprises from about 0% to about 70%, preferably from about 5% to about25%, by weight of the compositions herein. Suitable humectants for usein compositions of the subject invention include edible polyhydricalcohols such as glycerin, sorbitol, xylitol, butylene glycol,polyethylene glycol, and propylene glycol, especially sorbitol andglycerin.

Flavoring and sweetening agents can also be added to the compositions.Suitable flavoring agents include oil of wintergreen, oil of peppermint,oil of spearmint, clove bud oil, menthol, anethole, methyl salicylate,eucalyptol, cassia, 1-menthyl acetate, sage, eugenol, parsley oil,oxanone, alpha-irisone, marjoram, lemon, orange, propenyl guaethol,cinnamon, vanillin, thymol, linalool, cinnamaldehyde glycerol acelalknown as CGA, and mixtures thereof. Flavouring agents are generally usedin the compositions at levels of from about 0.001% to about 5%, byweight of the composition.

Sweetening agents which can be used include sucrose, glucose, saccharin,dextrose, levulose, lactose as described herein above, mannitol,sorbitol, fructose, maltose, xylitol, saccharin salts, thaumatin,aspartame, D-tryptophane, dihydrochalcones, acesulfame and cyclamatesalts, especially sodium cyclamate and sodium saccharin, and mixturesthereof. A composition preferably contains from about 0.1% to about 10%of these agents, preferably from about 0.1% to about 1%, by weight ofthe composition.

The present invention may also include an alkali metal bicarbonate salt.Alkali metal bicarbonate salts are soluble in water and unlessstabilized, tend to release carbon dioxide in an aqueous system. Sodiumbicarbonate, also known as baking soda, is the preferred alkali metalbicarbonate salt. The present composition may contain from about 0.5% toabout 30%, preferably from about 0.5% to about 15%, and most preferablyfrom about 0.5% to about 5% of an alkali metal bicarbonate salt.

Water employed in the preparation of commercially suitable oralcompositions should preferably be of low ion content and free of organicimpurities. Water generally comprises from about 10% to about 50%, andpreferably from about 20% to about 40%, by weight of the aqueoustoothpaste compositions herein. These amounts of water include the freewater which is added plus that which is introduced with other materials,such as with sorbitol. Titanium dioxide may also be added to the presentcomposition. Titanium dioxide is a white powder, which adds opacity tothe compositions. Titanium dioxide generally comprises from about 0.25%to about 5% by weight of the dentifrice compositions. The pH of thepresent compositions is preferably adjusted through the use of bufferingagents. Buffering agents, as used herein, refer to agents that can beused to adjust the pH of the compositions to a range of about 4.5 toabout 9.5. Buffering agents include monosodium phosphate, trisodiumphosphate, sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, sodium acidpyrophosphate, citric acid, and sodium citrate. Buffering agents can beadministered at a level of from about 0.5% to about 10%, by weight ofthe present compositions. The pH of dentifrice compositions is measuredfrom a 3:1 aqueous slurry of dentifrice, e.g., 3 parts water to 1 parttoothpaste.

Other optional agents that may be used in the present compositionsinclude dimethicone copolyols selected from alkyl- andalkoxy-dimethicone copolyols, such as C12 to C20 alkyl dimethiconecopolyols and mixtures thereof. Highly preferred is cetyl dimethiconecopolyol marketed under the Trade Name Abil EM90. The dimethiconecopolyol is generally present in a level of from about 0.01% to about25%, preferably from about 0.1% to about 5%, more preferably from about0.5% to about 1.5% by weight. The dimethicone copolyols aid in providingpositive tooth feel benefits. Other useful carriers include biphasicdentifrice formulations such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,213,790; U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,666; U.S. Pat. No. 5,281,410; U.S. Pat.No. 4,849,213 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,180.

The present cosmetic compositions may also include other active agents,such as antimicrobial agents. Included among such agents are waterinsoluble non-cationic antimicrobial agents such as halogenated diphenylethers, phenolic compounds including phenol and its homologs, mono andpoly-alkyl and aromatic halophenols, resorcinol and its derivatives,bisphenolic compounds and halogenated salicylanilides, benzoic esters,and halogenated carbanilides. The water soluble antimicrobials includequaternary ammonium salts and bis-biquanide salts, among others.Triclosan monophosphate is an additional water soluble antimicrobialagent. The quaternary ammonium agents include those in which one or twoof the substitutes on the quaternary nitrogen has a carbon chain length(typically alkyl group) from about 8 to about 20, typically from about10 to about 18 carbon atoms while the remaining substitutes (typicallyalkyl or benzyl group) have a lower number of carbon atoms, such as fromabout 1 to about 7 carbon atoms, typically methyl or ethyl groups.Dodecyl trimethyl ammonium bromide, tetradecylpyridinium chloride,domiphen bromide, N-tetradecyl-4-ethyl pyridinium chloride, dodecyldimethyl (2-phenoxyethyl) ammonium bromide, benzyl dimethylstearylammonium chloride, cetyl pyridinium chloride, quaternized5-amino-1,3-bis(2-ethyl-hexyl)-5-methyl hexa hydropyrimidine,benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride and methyl benzethoniumchloride are exemplary of typical quaternary ammonium antibacterialagents. Other compounds are bis[4-(R-amino)-1-pyridinium] alkanes asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,206,215. Other antimicrobials such ascopper bisglycinate, copper glysinate, zinc citrate, and zinc lactatemay also be included. Enzymes are another type of active that may beused in the present compositions. Useful enzymes include those thatbelong to the category of proteases, lytic enzymes, plaque matrixinhibitors and oxidases: Proteases include papain, pepsin, trypsin,ficin, bromelin; cell wall lytic enzymes include lysozyme; plaque matrixinhibitors include dextranses, mutanases; and oxidases include glucoseoxidase, lactate oxidase, galactose oxidase, uric acid oxidase,peroxidases including horse radish peroxidase, myeloperoxidase,lactoperoxidase, chloroperoxidase. The oxidases also havewhitening/cleaning activity, in addition to anti-microbial properties.Such agents are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,946,725 and in U.S. Pat.No. 4,051,234. Other antimicrobial agents include chlorhexidine,triclosan, triclosan monophosphate, and flavor oils such as thymol.Triclosan and other agents of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,015,466 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,220. These agents, which provideanti-plaque benefits, may be present at levels of from about 0.01% toabout 5.0%, by weight of the dentifrice composition.

The term “chewing gum” as defined herein means a confectionerycomposition which is suitable for chewing and which comprises 2% orgreater, by weight of the composition, of elastomer. Suitable lozengeand chewing gum components are, for example, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.4,083,955; U.S. Pat. No. 6,770,264 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,781. Preferredlozenges are those described in Examples 11 and 12. A preferred chewinggum composition is described in Example 17. Compositions of the presentinvention preferably comprise an elastomer, or mixture of severaldifferent elastomers. Elastomeric materials are generally known in theart but illustrative examples include styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR);synthetic gums; polyisobutylene and isobutylene-isoprene copolymers;natural gums; chicle; natural rubber; jelutong; balata; guttapercha;lechi caspi; sorva; and mixtures thereof. Compositions of the presentinvention preferably comprise from about 2% to about 30%, morepreferably from about 5% to about 25%, by weight, of elastomer. Theselevels are determined by the desired final texture of the chewing gumsince when the total level of elastomer is below about 2% the basecomposition lacks elasticity, chewing texture, and cohesiveness whereasat levels above about 30% the formulation is hard, rubbery and maintainsa tight chew. Elastomer solvents are also preferably present incompositions of the present invention since they aid softening of theelastomer component. Preferred examples of elastomer solvents for useherein include the pentaerythritol ester of partially hydrogenated woodrosin, pentaerythritol ester of wood rosin, glycerol ester of partiallydimerized rosin, glycerol ester of polymerised rosin, glycerol ester oftall oil, wood or gum rosin, glycerol ester of partially hydrogenatedrosin, methyl ester of partially hydrogenated rosin, and mixturesthereof. Compositions of the present invention preferably comprise fromabout 2% to about 50%, more preferably from about 10% to about 35%, byweight, of elastomer solvent.

Lozenges for use in accordance with this invention can be prepared, forexample, by art-recognized techniques for forming compressed tabletswhere the disaccharide is dispersed on a compressible solid carrier,optionally combined with any appropriate tableting aids such as alubricant (e.g., magnesium-stearate) and is compressed into tablets. Thesolid carrier component for such tableting formulations can be asaliva-soluble solid, such as a cold water-soluble starch or amonosaccharide, so that the lozenge will readily dissolve in the mouthto release the contained disaccharide acid in saliva solution forcontact with and absorption by the oral/pharyngeal mucosa when thelozenge is held in the mouth. The pH of the above-described formulationscan range from about 4 to about 8.5.

Lozenges for use in accordance with the present invention can also beprepared utilizing other art-recognized solid unitary dosage formulationtechniques.

A mouth wash or mouth rinse of the present invention could preferably beas follows:

A Olium menthae 1.2 parts

-   -   Tinctura Arnicae 3.0 parts    -   Tinctura Myrrhae 3.0 parts    -   Tween 5.0 parts

B Spiritus 90% 50.0 parts

C Sodium Benzoate 0.2 parts

-   -   Sweetening agent (e.g. aspartane) 0.02 parts    -   Agua destilata ad 100,

A is to be well mixed, B is added under stirring and C is addedsubsequently. The resulting clear liquid is to be filtered within 48hours after preparation. Another preferred mouth wash is described inExample 18.

Regardless of the dosage form, liquid or solid, in one preferredembodiment of the present invention the dosage form is held in thepatient's mouth for a period of time to promote contact of themicroorganism or analog or fragment of amicroorganism of the presentinvention with the patient's oral cavity.

Another preferred composition of the present invention is apharmaceutical composition comprising the microorganism or a derivativeor mutant or an analog or fragment thereof as described above inconnection with the pharmaceutical composition further comprising apharmaceutical acceptable carrier or excipient. Preferably, themicroorganism, mutant, analog, derivative or fragment thereof is amicroorganism, mutant, derivative or fragment of the present invention.

In addition, the present invention relates to the use of a microorganismor a derivative or mutant or an analog or fragment thereof as describedabove in connection with the composition of the present invention forthe preparation of a composition, preferably a pharmaceutical orcosmetic compound for the prophylaxis against caries. Preferably, themicroorganism, mutant, derivative, analog or fragment thereof is amicroorganism, mutant, derivative or fragment of the present invention.

Pharmaceutical compositions comprise a therapeutically effective amountof a microorganism or derivative or mutant of the present invention oran analog or fragment of said microorganism of the present inventiondescribed in connection with the composition of the present inventionand can be formulated in various forms, e.g. in solid, liquid, powder,aqueous, lyophilized form.

The pharmaceutical composition may be administered with apharmaceutically acceptable carrier to a patient, as described herein.In a specific embodiment, the term “pharmaceutically acceptable” meansapproved by a regulatory agency or other generally recognizedpharmacopoeia for use in animals, and more particularly in humans. Apreferred pharmaceutical composition of the present invention does notcontain lactose in a range between 1% (w/w) and 6% (w/w). It is alsopreferred that the pharmaceutical composition contains not more than 1%(w/w) lactose, e.g. it contains less than 1%, preferably less than 0.9%(w/w), 0.8% (w/w) lactose, etc. or that the pharmaceutical compositioncontains more than 6%, 7%, 8% etc. (w/w) lactose. Alternatively, butalso preferred is that the pharmaceutical composition does not containlactose.

The term “carrier” refers to a diluent, adjuvant, excipient, or vehiclewith which the therapeutic is administered. Such a carrier ispharmaceutically acceptable, i.e. is non-toxic to a recipient at thedosage and concentration employed. It is preferably isotonic, hypotonicor weakly hypertonic and has a relatively low ionic strength, such asprovided by a sucrose solution. Such pharmaceutical carriers can besterile liquids, such as water and oils, including those of petroleum,animal, vegetable or synthetic origin, such as peanut oil, soybean oil,mineral oil, sesame oil and the like. Saline solutions and aqueousdextrose and glycerol solutions can also be employed as liquid carriers,particularly for injectable solutions. Suitable pharmaceuticalexcipients include starch, glucose, sucrose, gelatin, malt, rice, flour,chalk, silica gel, sodium stearate, glycerol monostearate, talc, sodiumion, dried skim milk, glycerol, propylene, glycol, water, ethanol andthe like. The excipient may contain lactose as described herein above,most preferably it is lactose-free. The composition, if desired, canalso contain minor amounts of wetting or emulsifying agents, or pHbuffering agents. These compositions can take the form of solutions,suspensions, emulsion, tablets, pills, capsules, powders,sustained-release formulations and the like. Oral formulation caninclude standard carriers such as pharmaceutical grades of mannitol,starch, magnesium stearate, sodium saccharine, cellulose, magnesiumcarbonate, etc. Examples of suitable pharmaceutical carriers aredescribed in “Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences” by E.W. Martin. Skimmilk, skim milk powder, non-milk or non-lactose containing products mayalso be employed. The skim milk powder is conventionally suspended inphosphate buffered saline (PBS), autoclaved or filtered to eradicateproteinaceous and living contaminants, then freeze dried heat dried,vacuum dried, or lyophilized. Some other examples of substances whichcan serve as pharmaceutical carriers are sugars, such as glucose andsucrose; starches such as corn starch and potato starch; cellulose andits derivatives such as sodium carboxymethycellulose, ethylcellulose andcellulose acetates; powdered tragancanth; malt; gelatin; talc; stearicacids; magnesium stearate; calcium sulfate; calcium carbonate; vegetableoils, such as peanut oils, cotton seed oil, sesame oil, olive oil, cornoil and oil of theobroma; polyols such as propylene glycol, glycerine,sorbitol, manitol, and polyethylene glycol; agar; alginic acids;pyrogen-free water; isotonic saline; cranberry. extracts and phosphatebuffer solution; skim milk powder; as well as other non-toxic compatiblesubstances used in pharmaceutical formulations such as Vitamin C,estrogen and echinacea, for example. Wetting agents and lubricants suchas sodium lauryl sulfate, as well as colouring agents, flavouringagents, lubricants, excipients, tabletting agents, stabilizers,anti-oxidants and preservatives, can also be present.

Preferably, the oral formulation contains lactose as described hereinand is most preferably lactose-free. Various carriers and/or excipientssuitable for oral administration which are well known in the art may beused for the purpose of this invention. The non-cariogenic compositionmay, if desired, further contain various known additives such as, forexample, preservatives, hardening agents, lubricants, emulsifiers,stabilizers, essence and the like. Such compositions will contain atherapeutically effective amount of the aforementioned compounds,preferably in purified form, together with a suitable amount of carrierso as to provide the form for proper administration to the patient. Theformulation should suit the mode of administration.

Generally, the ingredients are supplied either separately or mixedtogether in unit dosage form, for example, as a dry lyophilised powderor water free concentrate in a hermetically sealed container such as anampoule or sachette indicating the quantity of active agent. Where thecomposition is to be administered by infusion, it can be dispensed withan infusion bottle containing sterile pharmaceutical grade water orsaline.

The pharmaceutical composition of the invention can be formulated asneutral or salt forms. Pharmaceutically acceptable salts include thoseformed with anions such as those derived from hydrochloric, phosphoric,acetic, oxalic, tartaric acids, etc., and those formed with cations suchas those derived from sodium, potassium, ammonium, calcium, ferrichydroxides, isopropylamine, triethylamine, 2-ethylamino ethanol,histidine, procaine, etc. In vitro assays may optionally be employed tohelp identify optimal dosage ranges. The precise dose to be employed inthe formulation will also depend on the route of administration, and theseriousness of the disease or disorder, and should be decided accordingto the judgment of the practitioner and each patient's circumstances.Effective doses may be extrapolated from dose-response curves derivedfrom in vitro or animal model test systems. Preferably, thepharmaceutical composition is administered directly or in combinationwith an adjuvant. Adjuvants may be selected from the group consisting ofa chloroquine, protic polar compounds, such as propylene glycol,polyethylene glycol, glycerol, EtOH, 1-methyl L-2-pyrrolidone or theirderivatives, or aprotic polar compounds such as dimethylsulfoxide(DMSO), diethylsulfoxide, di-n-propylsulfoxide, dimethylsulfone,sulfolane, dimethylformamide, dimethylacetamide, tetramethylurea,acetonitrile or their derivatives. These compounds are added inconditions respecting pH limitations. The composition of the presentinvention can be administered to a vertebrate. “Vertebrate” as usedherein is intended to have the same meaning as commonly understood byone of ordinary skill in the art. Particularly, “vertebrate” encompassesmammals, and more particularly humans.

The term “administered” means administration of a therapeuticallyeffective dose of the aforementioned composition. By “therapeuticallyeffective amount” is meant a dose that produces the effects for which itis administered, preferably this effect is anticariogenic. The exactdose will depend on the purpose of the treatment, and will beascertainable by one skilled in the art using known techniques. As isknown in the art and described above, adjustments for systemic versuslocalized delivery, age, body weight, general health, sex, diet, time ofadministration, drug interaction and the severity of the condition maybe necessary, and will be ascertainable with routine experimentation bythose skilled in the art.

The methods are applicable to both human therapy and veterinaryapplications. The compounds described herein having the desiredtherapeutic activity may be administered in a physiologically acceptablecarrier to a patient, as described herein. Depending upon the manner ofintroduction, the compounds may be formulated in a variety of ways asdiscussed below. The concentration of therapeutically active compound inthe formulation may vary from about 0.1-100 wt %. The agents maybeadministered alone or in combination with other treatments.

The administration of the pharmaceutical composition can be done in avariety of ways as discussed above, including, but not limited to,orally, subcutaneously, intravenously, intra-arterial, intranodal,intramedullary, intrathecal, intraventricular, intranasally,intrabronchial, transdermally, intranodally, intrarectally,intraperitoneally, intramuscularly, intrapulmonary, vaginally, rectally,or intraocularly.

Preferably the administration is orally or buccal. The attendingphysician and clinical factors will determine the dosage regimen. As iswell known in the medical arts, dosages for any one patient depends uponmany factors, including the patient's size, body surface area, age, theparticular compound to be administered, sex, time and route ofadministration, general health, and other drugs being administeredconcurrently. A typical dose can be, for example, in the range of 0.001to 1000 μg; however, doses below or above this exemplary range areenvisioned, especially considering the aforementioned factors.

The dosages are preferably given once a week, however, duringprogression of the treatment the dosages can be given in much longertime intervals and in need can be given in much shorter time intervals,e.g., daily. In a preferred case the immune response is monitored usingherein described methods and further methods known to those skilled inthe art and dosages are optimized, e.g., in time, amount and/orcomposition. Progress can be monitored by periodic assessment. Thepharmaceutical composition of the invention may be administered locallyor systemically. It is also envisaged that the pharmaceuticalcompositions are employed in co-therapy approaches, i.e. inco-administration with other medicaments or drugs, for example otherdrugs for preventing, treating or ameliorating caries which aredescribed herein.

Another preferred composition of the present invention is a food or feedcomposition comprising a microorganims, mutant, derivative, analog orfragment thereof as described in connection with the composition of thepresent invention , further comprising an orally acceptable carrier orexcipient. Preferably, the microorganism, mutant, derivative, analog orfragment thereof is a microorganism, mutant, derivative or fragment ofthe present invention.

“Food” or “feed” comprises any latable, palatable and/or drinkable stufffor mammals, for example, humans or animals, e.g., pets as describedherein. Food and feedstuff is described herein elsewhere. An “orallyacceptable carrier” is described herein above and is preferably nottoxic and of food and/or feed grade. Yet, this term also encompasses thecarriers mentioned in connection with the pharmaceutical composition ofthe present invention. A preferred food or feed composition of thepresent invention does not contain lactose in a range between 1% (w/w)and 6% (w/w). It is also preferred that the food or feed compositioncontains not more than 1%(w/w) lactose, e.g. it contains less than 1%,preferably less than 0.9% (w/w), 0.8% (w/w) lactose, etc. or that thefood or feed composition contains more than 6%, 7%, 8% etc. (w/w)lactose. Alternatively, but also preferred is that the food or feedcomposition does not contain lactose.

The present invention provides furthermore the use of a microorganism ora derivative or mutant thereof or an analog or fragment disclosed inconnection with the composition of the present invention herein for thepreparation of an anticariogenic composition which is preferably adentifrice, chewing gum, lozenge, mouth wash, mouse rinse or dentalfloss as described herein above. Preferably, the microorganism, mutant,derivative, analog or fragment thereof is a microorganism, mutant,derivative or fragment of the present invention.

Another aspect of the present invention is a method for the productionof an anticariogenic composition comprising the steps of formulating amicroorganism or derivative or mutant thereof or an analog or fragmentof a microorganism described in connection with the composition of thepresent invention with a cosmetically, pharmaceutically or orallyacceptable carrier or excipient. Preferably, the microorganism, mutant,derivative, analog or fragment thereof is a microorganism, mutant,derivative or fragment of the present invention.

A method for the production of an anticariogenic foodstuff or feedstuffwherein the method comprises the step of adding a microorganism orderivative or mutant or an analog or fragment thereof which aredisclosed herein in connection with the composition of the presentinvention is also provided by the present application. Preferably, themicroorganism, mutant, derivative, analog or fragment thereof is amicroorganism, mutant, derivative or fragment of the present invention.

In accordance with the present invention, the term “foodstuff”encompasses all eatable and drinkable food and drinks. Accordingly, themicroorganism or analog or fragment may be included in a food or drink.These are, for example, gum, spray, beverage, candies, infant formula,ice cream, frozen dessert, sweet salad dressing, milk preparations,cheese, quark, lactose-free yogurt, acidified milk, coffee cream orwhipped cream and the like.

Milk-based products are envisaged within the framework of the invention.Milk is however understood to mean that of animal origin, such as cow,goat, sheep, buffalo, zebra, horse, donkey, or camel, and the like. Themilk may be in the native state, a reconstituted milk, a skimmed milk ora milk supplemented with compounds necessary for the growth of thebacteria or for the subsequent processing of fermented milk, such asfat, proteins of a yeast extract, peptone and/or a surfactant, forexample. The term milk also applies to what is commonly called vegetablemilk, that is to say extracts of plant material which have been treatedor otherwise, such as leguminous plants (soya bean, chick pea, lentiland the like) or oilseeds (colza, soya bean, sesame, cotton and thelike), which extract contains proteins in solution or in colloidalsuspension, which are coagulable by chemical action, by acidfermentation and/or by heat. Finally, the word milk also denotesmixtures of animal milks and of vegetable milks.

Where the microorganism or analog or fragment of this invention areadded to yogurt and the like having similar contents, it is sufficientto add the microorganism of this invention at a concentration of about10⁵-10⁷ cells/ml. In such a case, it is possible to completely preventor inhibit dental caries induced by cariogenic strains of S. mutanswithout significant side effect upon the quality of the drink per se.

Such food drink or feed can be produced by a general method forproducing foods and drinks or feeds, including adding the activeingredient to a raw or cooked material of the food, drink or feed. Thefood, drink or feed in accordance with the present invention can bemolded and granulated in the same manner as generally used for foods,drinks or feeds. The molding and granulating method includes granulationmethods such as fluid layer granulation, agitation granulation,extrusion granulation, rolling granulation, gas stream granulation,compaction molding granulation, cracking granulation, spray granulation,and injection granulation, coating methods such as pan coating, fluidlayer coating, and dry coating, puff dry, excess steam method, foam matmethod, expansion methods such as microwave incubation method, andextrusion methods with extrusion granulation machines and extruders.

The food, drink or feed according to the present invention includesfoods, drinks or feeds comprising the active ingredient. The food, drinkor feed to be used in the present invention includes any food, drink orfeed. The active ingredient in the food, drink or feed is notspecifically limited to any concentration as long as the resulting food,drink or feed can exert its activity of specifically binding toStreptococcus mutans. The concentration of the active ingredient ispreferably 0.001 to 100% by weight, more preferably 0.01 to 100% byweight and most preferably 0.1 to 100% by weight of the food, drink orfeed comprising such active ingredient or with respect to the cellnumber those described herein.

Specific foods or drinks, to which the active ingredient is added,include, for example, juices, refreshing drinks, soups, teas, sour milkbeverages, dairy products such as fermented milks, ices, butter, cheese,processed milk and skim milk, meat products such as ham, sausage, andhamburger, fish meat cake products, egg products such as seasoned eggrolls and egg curd, confectioneries such as cookie, jelly, snacks, andchewing gum, breads, noodles, pickles, smoked products, dried fishes andseasonings. The form of the food or drink includes, for example, powderfoods, sheet-like foods, bottled foods, canned foods, retort foods,capsule foods, tablet foods and fluid foods. The food or drink with anactivity to specifically bind to Streptococcus mutans to be ingested byinfants, are preferably nutritious compositions for infants. Suchnutritious composition for infants includes modified milk prepared forinfants, protein-decomposed milk, specific nutritionally modified milkor baby foods and foods prepared for toddlers. The form of thenutritious composition for infants includes but is not specificallylimited to powder milks dried and pulverized and baby foods and alsoinclude general foods such as ice cream, fermented milk, and jelly forinfantile ingestion.

The nutritious composition for infants in accordance with the presentinvention is principally composed of protein, lipid, saccharide,vitamins and/or minerals. In the nutritious composition, the activeingredient is blended with these components.

The protein includes milk proteins such as skim milk, casein, cheesewhey, whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolates and theirfractions such as alpha s-casein, beta-casein, alpha-lactoalbumin andbeta-lactoglobulin . Further, egg protein such as egg yolk protein, eggwhite protein, and ovalbumin, or soybean protein such as defattedsoybean protein, separated soybean protein, and concentrated soybeanprotein can be used. Other than these, proteins such as wheat gluten,fish meat protein. cattle meat protein and collagen may also be usedsatisfactorily. Further, fractions of these proteins, peptides from theacid or enzyme treatment thereof, or free no acids maybe usedsatisfactorily as well.

The free amino acids can serve as nitrogen sources and can additionallybe used to give specific physiological actions. Such free amino acidsinclude, for example, taurine, arginine, cysteine, cystine andglutamine. The lipid includes animal fats and oils such as milk. fat ,lard, beef fat and fish oil, vegetable oils such as soybean oil.rapeseed oil, corn oil, coconut oil, palm oll, palm kernel oil,safflower oil, perilla oil, linseed oil, evening primrose oil, mediumchain fatty acid triglyceride, and cotton seed oil, bacteriallygenerated fats and oils, and fractionated oils thereof, hydrogenatedoils thereof, and ester exchange oils thereof. The amount of lipid to beblended varies depending on the use. The saccharide includes, forexample, one or more of starch, soluble polysaccharides, dextrin,monosaccharides such as sucrose, lactose as described herein, maltose,glucose, and fructose and other oligosaccharides. The total amount ofsuch saccharide is preferably 40 to 80% by weight to the total solid inthe nutritious composition. Further, artificial sweeteners such asaspartame may be used satisfactorily. The amount of an artificialsweetener is appropriately 0.05 to 1.0% by weight per the total solid inthe nutritious composition.

The vitamins include, but are not limited to, lycopene as an essentialcomponent and additionally include, for example, vitamins such asvitamin A, vitamin B group, vitamins C, D, and E and vitamin K group,folic acid, pantothenic acid, niootinamide, carnitine, choline, inositoland biotin as long as such vitamins can be administered to infants. Suchvitamins are preferably from 10 mg to 5 g by weight per the total solidin the nutritious composition for infants.

Further, the minerals include calcium, magnesium, potassiw, sodium,iron, copper, zinc, phosphorus, chlorine, manganese, selenium andiodine. Such minerals are preferably from 1 mg to 5 g by weight per thetotal solid in the nutritious composition for infants . Other than thosecomponents described above, the nutritious composition for infants ofthe present invention may be blended with any component desirablyblended in nutritious compositions, for example, dietary fiber,nucleotides, nucleic acids, flavors, and colorants. The food or drink ofthe present invention can be used as a health food or drink or afunctional food or drink to prevent and/or treat caries.

When the food or drink according to the present invention is ingested,the amount to be ingested is not specifically limited. The amount to beingested is generally 0.1 to 50 g, preferably 0.5 g to 20 g daily, basedon the total amount of active ingredient . The food or drink iscontinuously ingested at this amount for a period from a single day upto 5 years, preferably from 2 weeks to one year. Herein, the amountingested can be adjusted to an appropriate range depending on theseverity of the symptom of the individual ingesting the food or drink,the age and body weight thereof, and the like.

The feed of the present invention maybe any feed comprising the activeingredient. The feed includes, for example, pet feeds for dogs, cats andrats, cattle feeds for cows and pigs, chicken feeds for chicken andturkeys, and fish cultivation feeds for porgy and yellowtail.

The feed can be produced by appropriately blending the active ingredientof the present invention in a raw feed material including, for example,cereals, brans, oil-seed meals, animal-derived raw feed materials, otherraw feed materials and purified products. The cereals include, forexample, mile, wheat, barley, oats, rye, brown rice, buckwheat, fox-tailmillet, Chinese millet, Deccan grass, corn, and soybean.

The brans include, far example, rice bran, defatted rice bran, bran,lowest-grade flour, wheat germ, barley bran. screening pellet, cornbran, and corn germ.

The oil-seed meals include, for example, soybean meal, soybean powder,linseed meal, cottonseed meal, peanut meal, safflower meal, coconutmeal, palm meal, sesame meal, sunflower meal, rapeseed meal, kapok seedmeal and mustard meal.

The animal-derived raw feed materials include , for example , fishpowders, import meal, whole meal, and coast meal, fish soluble, meatpowder, meat and bone powder, blood powder, decomposed hair, bonepowder, byproducts from butchery, feather meal, silkworm pupa, skimmilk, casein, dry whey and krill.

Other raw feed materials include, for example, plant stems and leavessuch as alfalfa, hey cube, alfalfa leaf meal, and locust leaf powder,byproducts from corn processing industries, such as corn gluten meal,corn gluten feed and corn steep liquor, starch, sugar, yeast, byproductsfrom fermentation industry such as beer residue, malt root, liquorresidue and soy sauce residue, and agricultural byproducts such ascitrus processed residue, soybean curd residue, coffee residue, andcocoa residue, cassava, horse bean, guar meal, seaweed, spirulina andchlorella.

The purified products include, for example, proteins such as casein andalbumin, amino acids, starch, cellulose, saccharides such as sucrose andglucose, minerals and vitamins, In case of providing to animals the feedaccording to the present Invention, the amount of the feed to beingested is not specifically limited but is preferably for example, 0.1mg to 50 g per 1 kg body weight per day, preferably 0.5 mg to 20 g per 1kg body weight per day, based on the amount of the active ingredient.The feed is continuously ingested at this amount for a period from asingle day up to 5 years, preferably from 2 weeks to one year. Again,the amount ingested can be adjusted to an appropriate range depending onthe species, age and body weight of the animal ingesting the feed, andthe like.

Furthermore, the present invention relates to an additive for foods,drinks and feeds, which, due to the presence of a microorganism orderivative or mutant or analog or fragment thereof as described inconnection with the composition of the present invention is, inter alia,capable of specifically binding to Streptococcus mutans so as to preventand/or treat caries. Preferably, the microorganism, mutant, derivative,analog or fragment thereof is a microorganism, mutant, derivative orfragment of the present invention. The additive for foods or drinksincludes the additive for nutritious compositions for infants. Theadditive for foods can be produced by a general method for producingadditives for foods, drinks or feeds. If necessary, additives forgeneral use in foods, drinks or feeds, for example, additives describedin Food Additive Handbook (The Japan Food Additives Association; issuedon Jan. 6, 1997) may be added satisfactorily, including sweeteners,colorants, preservatives, thickeners and stabilizers, anti-oxidants,color fixing agents, bleaches, antiseptics, gum base, bitters, enzymes,brightening agents, acidifier, seasonings, emulsifiers, enhancers,agents for manufacture, flavors, and spice extracts. Further,conventional saccharides, starch, inorganic materials, plant powders,excipients, disintegrators, lubricants, binders, surfactants, andplasticizers mentioned previously for pharmaceutical tablets may beadded satisfactorily.

The additives include the following additives.

The sweeteners include aspartame, licorice, stevia, xylose and rakanka(Momordica grosvenori fruit). The colorants include carotenoid andturmeric oleoresin, flavonold, caramel color, spirulina color,chlorophyll, purple sweet potato color, purple yam color, perilla color,and blueberry color.

The preservatives include, for example, sodium sulfite, benzoates,benzoin extract, sorbates, and propionates. The thickeners andstabilizers include, for example, gums such as gum arable and xanthangum, alginates, chitin, chitosan, aloe extract, guar gum, hydroxypropylcellulose, sodium casein, corn starch. carboxymethyl cellulose, gelatin,agar, dextrin, methyl cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, microfibercellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, seaweed cellulose, sodiumpolyacrylate, sodium polyphosphate, carrageenan or yeast cell wall.

The anti-oxidants include, for example, vitamin C group, sodiumethylenediaminetetraacetate, calcium ethylenediaminetetraacelate,erythorbic acid, oryzanol, catechin, quercetin, clove extract,enzyme-treated rutin, apple extract, sesame seed extract,dibutylhydroxytoluene, fennel extract, horseradish extract, water celeryextract, tea extract, tocopherols, rapeseed extract, coffee beanextract, sunflower seed extract, ferulio acid, butylhydroxyanisole,blueberry leaf extract. propolis extract, pepper extract, garden balsamextract, gallic acid, eucalyptus extract, and rosemary extract. Thecolor fixing agents include, for example, sodium nitrite. The bleachesinclude, for example, sodium sulfite.

The antiseptics include, for example, o-phenyl phenol. The gum baseincludes, for example, acetylricinoleate methyl, urushi wax, ester gum,elerni resin, urucury wax, kaurigum, carnaubawax, glycerin fatty acidester, spermaceti wax, copaibabalsam, copal resin, rubber, rice branwax, cane wax, shellac, jelutong, sucrose fatty acid ester,depolymerized natural rubber, paraffin wax, fir balsam, propylene glycolfatty acid ester, powdered pulp, powdered rice hulls, jojoba oil,polyisobutylene, polybutene, microcrystalline wax, mastic gum, bees waxand calcium phosphate.

The bitters include, for example, iso-alpha-bitter acid, caffeine,kawaratake (Coriolus versieolor) extract, redbark cinchona extract,Phellodendron bark extract, gentian root extract, spice extracts,enzymatically modified naringin, Jamaica cassia extract, theabromine,naringin, cassia extract, absinth extract, isodonis extract, olive tea,bitter orange (Citrus aurantium) extract, hop extract and wormwoodextract.

The enzymes include, for example, amylase, trypsin or rennet.

The brightening agents include, for example, urushi wax and japan wax.The acidifier include, for example, adipic acid, itacania acid, citricacids, succinic acids, sodium acetate, tartaric acids, carbon dioxide,lactic acid, phytic acid, fumario acid, malic acid and phosphoric acid.The seasonings include, for example, amino acids such as asparagine,aspartic acid, glutamic acid, glutamine, alanine, isoleucine, glycine,serine, cystine, tyrosine, leucine, and praline, nucleic acids such assodium inosinate, sodium uridinate, sodium guanylate, sodium cytidylate,calcium ribonucleotide and sodium ribonucleotide, organic acids such ascitric acid and succinic acid, potassium chloride, sodiumchloride-decreased brine, crude potassium chloride, whey salt,tripotassium phosphate, dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, potassiumdihydrogen phosphate, disodium hydrogen phosphate, sodium dihydrogenphosphate, trisodium phosphate and chlorella extract.

The enhancers include, for example, zinc salts, vitamin C group, variousamino acids, 5-adenylic acid, iron chloride, hesperidin, variouscalcined calcium, various non-calcined calcium, dibenzoylthiamine,calcium hydroxide, calcium carbonate, thiamine′ hydrochloride salt,Dunallella. Oarotene, tocopherol, nicotinic acid, carrot carotene, palmoil carotene, calcium pantothenate, vitamin A, hydroxyproline, calciumdihydrogen pyrophosphate, ferrous pyrophosphate, ferric pyrophosphate,ferritin, heme iron, rnenaquinone, folic acid and riboflavine.

The agents for manufacture include, for example, processing auxiliariessuch as acetone and ion exchange resin. The flavors include, forexample, vanilla essence and the spice extracts include, for example,capsicum extract.

These various additives can be added to the active ingredient, takinginto consideration the mode of administration, in accordance with thepresent invention.

The anticariogenic composition of the present invention encompasses anamount of a microorganism or derivative or mutant thereof of the presentinvention or analog or fragment thereof as described in connection withthe composition of the present invention. Preferably, the microorganism,mutant, derivative, analog or fragment thereof is a microorganism,mutant, derivative or fragment of the present invention. It is envisagedthat the compositions and in particular the anticariogenic compositioncomprise a microorganism of the present invention as described inconnection with the composition of the present invention in the form ofa probiotic microorganism. Namely, in addition to the probiotic effect,the probiotic microorganism of the present invention is useful fortreating and/or preventing caries. The amount of said probioticmicroorganism is high enough to significantly positively modify thecondition to be treated, preferably caries, but low enough to avoidserious side effects (at a reasonable benefit/risk ratio), within thescope of sound medical judgment. An effective amount of said probioticmicroorganism will vary with the particular goal to be achieved, the ageand physical condition of the patient being treated, the severity of theunderlying disease, the duration of treatment, the nature of concurrenttherapy and the specific microorganism employed. The effective amount ofsaid probiotic microorganism will thus be the minimum amount which willprovide the desired specific binding to Streptococcus mutans. Thepresence of, for example, 1×10⁹ bacteria, as viable or non-viable wholecells, in 0.05 ml solution of phosphate buffered saline solution, or in0.05 ml of suspension of agar, or the dry weight equivalent of cell wallfragments, is effective when administered in quantities of from about0.05 ml to about 20 ml.

A decided practical advantage is that the probiotic organism may beadministered in a convenient manner such as by the oral route. Dependingon the route of administration, the active ingredients which comprisesaid probiotic organisms may be required to be coated in a material toprotect said organisms from the action of enzymes, acids and othernatural conditions which may inactivate said organisms. In order toadminister probiotic organisms by other than parenteral administration,they should be coated by, or administered with, a material to preventinactivation. For example, probiotic organisms may be co-administeredwith enzyme inhibitors or in liposomes. Enzyme inhibitors includepancreatic trypsin inhibitor, diisopropylfluorophosphate (DFP) andtrasylol. Liposomes include water-in-oil-in-water P40 emulsions as wellas conventional and specifically designed liposomes which transportlactobacilli or their by-products to the urogenital surface. Dispersionscan also be prepared, for example, in glycerol, liquid polyethyleneglycols, and mixtures thereof, and in oils. Generally, dispersions areprepared by incorporating the various sterilized probiotic organismsinto a sterile vehicle which contains the basic dispersion medium andthe required other ingredients from those enumerated above. In the caseof sterile powders for the preparation of sterile injectable solutions,the preferred methods of preparation are vacuum-drying and thefreeze-drying technique which yield a powder of the active ingredientplus any additional desired ingredient from previously sterile-filteredsolution thereof. Additional preferred methods of preparation includebut are not limited to lyophilization and heat-drying.

The anticariogenic composition also encompasses products intended to beadministered orally, or buccal, which comprise an acceptablepharmaceutical carrier as described herein to which, or onto which,cells of a microorganism of the present invention as described inconnection with the composition of the present invention which ispreferably a microorganism of the present invention is added in fresh,concentrated or dried form, for example. Of course, also a derivative orfragment of said microorganism can be added or any combination of saidmicroorganism, derivative and/or fragment thereof which are disclosedherein. These products may be provided in the form of an ingestiblesuspension, a gel, a diffuser, a capsule, a hard gelatin capsule, asyrup, or in any other galenic form known to persons skilled in the art.

When the probiotic organisms are suitably protected as described above,the active compound may be orally administered, for example, with aninert diluent or with an assimilable edible carrier, or it may beenclosed in hard or soft shell gelatin capsule, or it may be compressedinto tablets designed to pass through the stomach (i.e., entericcoated), or it may be incorporated directly with the food of the diet.For oral therapeutic administration, the probiotic organisms may beincorporated with excipients and used in the form of ingestible tablets,buccal tablets, troches, capsules, elixirs, suspensions, syrups, wafers,and the like. Compositions or preparations according to the presentinvention are prepared so that an oral dosage unit form contains, forexample, about 1×10⁹ viable or non-viable e.g., lactobacilli per ml. Theprobiotic organism is compounded for convenient and effectiveadministration in effective amounts with a suitable pharmaceutically orfood acceptable carrier in dosage unit form as hereinbefore disclosed. Aunit dosage form can, for example, contain the principal active compoundin an amount approximating 10⁹ viable or non-viable, e.g., lactobacilli,per ml. In the case of compositions containing supplementary ingredientssuch as prebiotics, the dosages are determined by reference to the usualdose and manner of administration of the said ingredients.

The Figures show:

FIG. 1: Aggregation of Streptococcus mutans by Lactobacillus species

The figure shows a mixture of an aggregating Lactobacillus with S.mutans (left tube) in comparison with a mixture of a non-aggregatingLactobacillus with S. mutans (right tube). The experiment has beenperformed as described in Example 3 and the tubes were left undisturbedfor 20 minutes to allow the aggregates to settle.

FIG. 2: Microscopic picture of an aggregating Lactobacillus species withStreptococcus mutans

The figure shows a microscopic picture of the aggregate betweenLactobacillus and S. mutans shown in FIG. 1 (left tube). The picture wastaken at a 1000-fold magnification using a phase-contrast microscope.

A better understanding of the present invention and of its manyadvantages will be had from the following examples, offered forillustrative purposes only, and are not intended to limit the scope ofthe present invention in any way.

EXAMPLE 1 Storage and Growth

Storage and growth of strains can occur according to ordinaryprocedures. For example, strains can be stored as frozen stocks at −80°C. 1 ml of a culture can be grown to stationary phase (OD600/mL 4-8) inMRS-Medium and mixed with 500 μl of a sterile 50% glycerine solution andfrozen. Cultures of S. mutans can be grown in TSY-media to stationaryphase (OD600/mL 1-2) and treated as mentioned above Cultivation of S.mutans (DSMZ 20523, serotype c; NCTC 10923, serotype e; NCTC 11060,serotype f as well as non serotyped isolates) as well as cultivation oflactobacilli can be done in 5 ml in closed Falcon tubes at 37° C.without shacking over night.

In particular, the strains used in the present application were storedas frozen stocks at −80° C. 1 ml of a culture grown to stationary phase(OD600/mL 4-8) in MRS-broth was mixed with 500 μl of a sterile 50%glycerol solution and frozen.

In particular, cultures of S. mutans were grown in TSY-broth tostationary phase (OD600/mL 1-2) and treated as mentioned above.

Cultivation of S. mutans (DSMZ 20523, serotype c; NCTC 10923, serotypee; NCTC 11060, serotype f and other non serotyped isolates—isolated byOrganoBalance) and cultivation of lactobacilli was done in 5 ml inclosed Falcon tubes at 37° C. without shacking over night.

EXAMPLE 2 Taxonomic Classification of Strains

The taxonomic classification of the strains was done according to theircarbohydrate fermentation pattern. This was determined using the API 50CH (bioMerieux, France) system and analyzed using APILAB PLUS softwareversion 3.3.3 (bioMerieux, France).

EXAMPLE 3 Test on Aggregation of Streptococcus Mutans

Mixing of the lactobacilli with S. mutans was done in volumetric ratiosof 3:1 to 60:1 (S. mutans: lactobacilli), this corresponds to a ratio ofcolony forming units from 1:50 to 1:2,5. An optical density measured ata wavelength of 600 nm in 1 ml means preferably for S. mutans 3×10⁸colony forming units and for lactobacilli preferably 7×10⁹ colonyforming units. Mixing was done in 2 mL volume in 15 mL Falcon tubes. Theculture suspensions were diluted with PBS-buffer to obtain thevolumetric ratios mentioned above while keeping the final volume at 2ml. The mixture was vortexed for 15 seconds. An aggregation is visibleas an immediate turbidity of the suspension. The tubes were leftundisturbed for 20 min, after that period of time the aggregates settleas a visible pellet whereas non-aggregating mixtures stay in suspension.

As a control, self-aggregation of the respective Lactobacillus strainand the S. mutans strains was always investigated by performing the testwith only the Lactobacillus or the S. mutans strain added to the tube.An aggregation of S. mutans by Lactobacillus is shown in FIGS. 1 (lefttube) and 2.

The lactobacilli strains of the present invention, in particular thosedeposited with the DSMZ exhibited aggregation of all S. mutans serotypeswithout showing a self-aggregation behaviour.

Media:

MRS-broth: MRS-mixture (Difco, USA) 55 g/L pH: 6.5 TSY-broth:TSY-mixture (Difco, USA) 30 g/L Yeast extract (Deutsche  3 g/LHefewerke, Germany)

Buffer:

PBS-buffer: Na₂HPO₄*2H₂0 1.5 g/L KH₂PO₄ 0.2 g/L NaCl 8.8 g/L pH adjustedwith HCl

EXAMPLE 4 Specificity of the Aggregation Towards Typical Members of theOral Flora

The Lactobacillus cultures were grown as in Example 1.

The oral bacteria—namely: Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus(isolated by OrganoBalance, identified by API 50 CH (Biomerieux, France)according to manufacturers instructions); Streptococcus oralis (DSMZ20066); Streptococcus oralis (DSMZ 20395); Streptococcus oralis (DSMZ20627); Staphylococcus epidermidis (DSMZ 1798); Staphylococcusepidermidis (DSMZ 20044);Streptococcus mitis (DSMZ 12643); Streptococcussanguinis (DSMZ 20567)—were grown in 5 rnL BHI-medium in closed 15 mLFalcon tubes at 37° C. over night. Each of the oral bacteria werepreferably mixed in a volumetric ratio of 3:1 with Lactobacilluscultures and aggregation was assayed as in Example 3. For each testingof aggregation/non-aggregation only one of the aforementioned bacteriais preferably used to immediately determine the outcome of the testing.

As a control, a self-aggregation of the respective oral bacteria as wellas the tested Lactobacillus strains was always investigated byperforming the test with only the lactobacilli or the oral flora strainsadded to the tube.

The mentioned L. paracasei subsp. paracasei strains did not aggregatethe oral bacteria mentioned above. The L. rhamnosus strains aggregatedStreptococcus salivarius subsp thermophilus.

BHI-broth: BHI-mixture (Difco, USA) 37 g/L pH: 7.2

EXAMPLE 5 Temperature Resistance of the Aggregating Capacity of theLactobacilli

The bacteria were grown as in Example 1.

The grown lactobacilli cultures were incubated at 121° C. at 2 bar insatured steam for 20 min (autoclaved). After cooling of the autoclavedcultures to room temperature, the lactobacilli were mixed in avolumetric ratio of 1:3 with grown S. mutans cultures and aggregationwas assayed as in example 3 including the control experiments.

Aggregation was also assayed using the oral bacteria as outlined inExample 4.

It was found that the aggregation behaviour of the lactobacilli was notchanged by the autoclaving procedure towards the tested S. mutansserotypes or towards the oral bacteria.

EXAMPLE 6 Dependency of the Aggregation on pH-Value

The bacteria were grown as in Example 1.

0.5 ml of the lactobacilli and 1.5 ml of S. mutans were harvested bycentrifugation at 3200*g for 10 min and the supernatant was discarded.The cells were resuspended in their original volume (0.5 ml and 1.5 ml,respectively) in different PBS-buffers adjusted to different pH-values.The pH-values of the buffers were adjusted to values from 7.0 to 3.0 insteps of 0.5 pH-units. Cultures were resuspended in buffers of therespective pH-value that was to be used for the aggregation behaviourassay.

Afterwards the lactobacilli were preferably mixed in a volumetric ratioof 1:3 with S. mutans cultures and aggregation was assayed as in example3 including the control experiments. No visible aggregation of S. mutansby the lactobacilli occurred at pH values lower than 4.5.

EXAMPLE 7 Sensitivity of the Aggregation Behaviour to Lyophilisation.

The bacteria were grown as in Example 1.

Aliquots of 1 ml of the lactobacilli cultures were harvested bycentrifugation at 3200*g for 10 minutes. The supernatant was discardedand the pellets were lyophilised at room temperature under vacuum fortwo hours. Resulting dry pellets of each tested Lactobacillus strainwere stored at room temperature and at 4° C., respectively, for 1 day, 1week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks and 4 weeks. After the storage time, lyophilisedpellets were resuspended in 1 ml PBS-buffer, pH 7.0. The resuspendedlactobacilli were mixed in a volumetric ratio of 1 : 3 with freshlygrown S. mutans cultures and aggregation was assayed as in example 3including the control experiments.

The aggregation behaviour of the mentioned lactobacilli towards S.mutans was not changed by the lyophilization or the storage procedures.

EXAMPLE 8 Test on Protease Resistance

The bacteria were grown as in Example 1.

Proteases used were Pronase E, Proteinase K, Trypsin, Chymotrypsin (allobtained from Sigma, Germany). Aliquots of 1 ml of the lactobacilli werewashed in PBS-buffer by harvesting the cells by centrifugation at 3200*gfor 10 minutes and resuspending the pellet in 1 ml PBS-buffer (pH 7.0).Afterwards the cells were harvested again as described above andresuspended in PBS-buffer (pH 7.0) containing the respective protease ata final concentration of 2.5 mg/mL. The suspension was incubated for 1hour at 37° C. Afterwards the cells were washed and resuspended inPBS-buffer (pH 7.0) as described above.

The aggregation was assayed as in example 3 including the controlexperiments.

The aggregation behaviour of the mentioned lactobacilli towards S.mutans was not changed by treatment with any of the mentioned proteases.

EXAMPLE 9 Ion Dependency of the Aggregation Behaviour

The bacteria were grown as in Example 1.

Aliquots of 1 ml of the lactobacilli were washed in 1 ml 200 mM EDTAsolution twice as described above. Afterwards the cells were harvestedand resuspended in 1 ml PBS-buffer (pH 7.0).

The aggregation was assayed as in Example 3 and a complete loss of theaggregation ability was observed. Resuspension of the lactobacilli in 1ml of a 2 mM calcium solution after the two times washing in 200 mMEDTA-solution restored the ability to aggregate S. mutans. Resuspensionof the EDTA washed cells in up to 100 mM magnesium solution did notrestore the ability to aggregate S. mutans.

EXAMPLE 10 Test of Aggregation in the Presence of Saliva

The bacteria were grown as in Example 1.

2 ml aliquots of S. mutans cultures were harvested as described aboveand resuspended in 2 ml of saliva. The saliva was provided by twovolunteers and used immediately after winning.

The aggregation was assayed as in Example 3.

The aggregation behaviour of the mentioned lactobacilli towards S.mutans did not change in the presence of saliva.

EXAMPLE 11 Lozenge Composition (I)

The lozenge composition is preferably prepared as is described inExample 4 on page 8 of DE-C2 36 45 147, wherein, in addition to theingredients mentioned in said Example 4, the microorganism of thepresent invention is added in an amount of 10² to 10¹², preferably 10³to 10⁸ cells per mg of the lozenge.

EXAMPLE 12 Lozenge Composition (II)

The lozenge composition is preferably prepared as is described inExample 5 on page 8 of DE-C2 36 45 147, wherein, in addition to theingredients mentioned in said Example 4, the microorganism of thepresent invention is added in an amount of 10² to 10¹², preferably 10³to 10⁸ cells per mg of the lozenge.

EXAMPLE 13 Dentifrice Composition

The dentifrice composition is preferably prepared as is described inExample 3 on page 8 of DE-C2 36 45 147, wherein, in addition to theingredients mentioned in said Example 4, the microorganism of thepresent invention is added in an amount of 10² to 10¹², preferably 10³to 10⁸ cells per mg of the dentifrice.

EXAMPLE 14 Chalk-Based Dentifrice Composition

The chalk-based dentifrice composition is preferably prepared as isdescribed in chapter 7.1.4.4 “Rezepturbeispiel” on page 205 of thetextbook “Kosmetik”, W. Umbach (editor), 2^(nd) edition, Thieme Verlag,1995, wherein, in addition to the ingredients mentioned in said chapteron page 205, the microorganism of the present invention is added in anamount of 10² to 10¹², preferably 10³ to 10⁸ cells per mg of thechalk-based dentifrice.

EXAMPLE 15 Gel-Dentifrice on Basis of Silicic Acid/Sodium Fluoride

The gel-dentifrice on basis of silicic acid/sodium fluoride dentifricecomposition is preferably prepared as is described in chapter 7.1.4.4“Rezepturbeispiel” on page 205 of the textbook “Kosmetik”, W. Umbach(editor), 2^(nd) edition, Thieme Verlag, 1995, wherein, in addition tothe ingredients mentioned in said chapter on page 205, the microorganismof the present invention is added in an amount of 10² to 10¹²,preferably 10³ to 10⁸ cells per mg of the gel-dentifrice on basis ofsilicic acid/sodium fluoride.

EXAMPLE 16 Dentifrice Composition Against Tartar

The dentifrice composition against tartar is preferably prepared as isdescribed in chapter 7.1.4.4 “Rezepturbeispiel” on page 206 of thetextbook “Kosmetik”, W. Umbach (editor), 2^(nd) edition, Thieme Verlag,1995, wherein, in addition to the ingredients mentioned in said chapteron page 206, the microorganism of the present invention is added in anamount of 10² to 10¹², preferably 10³ to 10⁸ cells per mg of thedentifrice against tartar.

EXAMPLE 17 Chewing Gum Composition

The chewing gum composition is preferably prepared as is described inExample 6 on page 9 of DE-C2 36 45 147, wherein, in addition to theingredients mentioned in said Example 4, the microorganism of thepresent invention is added in an amount of 10² to 10¹², preferably 10³to 10⁸ cells per mg of the chewing gum.

EXAMPLE 18 Concentrated Mouthwash Composition

The concentrated mouth wash composition is preferably prepared as isdescribed in chapter 7.1.4.4 “Rezepturbeispiel” on page 206 of thetextbook “Kosmetik”, W. Umbach (editor), 2^(nd) edition, Thieme Verlag,1995, wherein, in addition to the ingredients mentioned in said chapteron page 206, the microorganism of the present invention is added in anamount of 10² to 10¹³, cells per ml of the concentrated mouthwashcomposition.

EXAMPLE 19 Film Preparation

Preparation of Films:

1. Water Phase

-   -   heat water to 60° C.    -   aspartame (sweetener) is added under stirring    -   aspartame is dissolved completely    -   a polymeric water-soluble film former, like, for example,        Kollicoat IR (polyethylenglycol on polyvinylalcohol) or PVP        (polyvinylpyrrolidon) or natural polymers such as alginates are        added under stirring until they are dissolved    -   after 10 min. the rest of the foam is removed    -   the microorganism of the present invention in an amount of 10²        to 10¹², preferably 10³ to 10⁸ cells per final aroma film is        added after cooling down of the mixture; alternatively, the        mutant or derivative of the microorganism of the present        invention or an analog or fragment of the microorganism of the        present invention can be added

2. Oily Phase

-   -   menthol is dissolved in peppermint-oil    -   polysorbat 80 is added to the peppermint-oil-menthol-mix under        stirring    -   this mixture is then added to propylene-glykole under stirring    -   optional colorants (such as pigments, lakes) can be added

3.

-   -   under stirring the oily phase is slowly mixed with the water        phase

4.

-   -   the thin films are mechanically generated using a cutting device

Sample formulations:

formulation I formulation II weight composition weight composition [g]in film [%] [g] in film [%] Phase I aspartame 0.7 1.4 0.7 1.8 KollicoatIR 35.0 68.5 25.0 65.8 ascorbic acid — — 1.0 2.6 cherry flavour 6.0 15.8water demin. 85.0 — 80.0 Phase II menthol 1.4 2.7 — peppermint oil 5.611.0 — polysorbat 80 0.7 1.4 — propylene glykol 7.0 13.7 5.0 13.2 greenlake 0.7 1.4 — azorubin lake — — 0.3 0.8 sum 136.1 100.0 118.0 100.0solid content 51.1 38.0

Other embodiments and uses of the invention will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practiceof the invention disclosed herein. All references cited herein, for anyreason, including all publications, all U.S: and foreign patents and allU.S. and foreign patent applications, are specifically and entirelyincorporated by reference for all purposes. It is intended that thespecification and examples be considered exemplary only with the truescope and spirit of the invention indicated by the following claims.

1-33. (canceled)
 34. A liquid or solid composition comprising cells ofat least one microorganism belonging to Lactobacillus paracasei which isthermally inactivated by heating at more than 95° C. for at least 20minutes, the cells consisting of dead or inactivated cells, wherein saidcells bind to Streptococcus mutans in the presence of saliva or at a pHrange between 4.5 and 8.5, wherein the binding between said cells andStreptococcus mutans is calcium-dependent, resistant to heat treatmentat more than 95° C. for at least 20 minutes, and resistant to proteasetreatment, and wherein the composition comprises the cells in an amountof at least 0.001% by weight based on the weight of the composition;wherein said composition optionally comprises less than 1% (w/w) lactoseor more than 6% (w/w) lactose based on the composition; wherein thecomposition is an animal feed which further comprises at least oneorally acceptable carrier or excipient.
 35. The composition of claim 34,wherein the feed composition is a pet feed for dogs, cats, and rats, acattle feed for cows and pigs, chicken feed for chicken and turkeys, ora fish cultivation feed for porgy and yellowtail.
 36. The composition ofclaim 34, wherein the at least one orally acceptable carrier orexcipient comprises a raw feed material selected from the groupconsisting of cereals, brans, oil-seed meals, animal-derived raw feedmaterials, and combinations thereof.
 37. The composition of claim 34,wherein the at least one orally acceptable carrier or excipientcomprises a cereal selected from the group consisting of mile, wheat,barley, oats, rye, brown rice, buckwheat, fox-tail millet, Chinesemillet, Deccan grass, corn, soybean, and combinations thereof.
 38. Thecomposition of claim 34, wherein the at least one orally acceptablecarrier or excipient comprises a bran selected from the group consistingof rice bran, defatted rice bran, bran, lowest-grade flour, wheat germ,barley bran, screening pellet, corn bran, corn germ, and combinationsthereof.
 39. The composition of claim 34, wherein the at least oneorally acceptable carrier or excipient comprises an oil-seed mealselected from the group consisting of soybean meal, soybean powder,linseed meal, cottonseed meal, peanut meal, safflower meal, coconutmeal, palm meal, sesame meal, sunflower meal, rapeseed meal, kapok seedmeal, mustard meal, and combinations thereof.
 40. The composition ofclaim 34, wherein the at least one orally acceptable carrier orexcipient comprises an animal-derived raw feed material selected fromthe group consisting of fish powders, import meal, whole meal, coastmeal, meat powder, meat and bone powder, blood powder, decomposed hair,bone powder, byproducts from butchery, feather meal, silkworm pupa, skimmilk, casein, dry whey, krill, and combinations thereof.
 41. Thecomposition of claim 34, wherein the at least one orally acceptablecarrier or excipient comprises a raw feed material selected from thegroup consisting of plant stems and leaves, byproducts from cornprocessing industries, starch, sugar, yeast, byproducts fromfermentation, agricultural byproducts, and combinations thereof.
 42. Thecomposition of claim 34, wherein the composition has anticariogenicactivity.
 43. The composition of claim 34, wherein the formation ofaggregates of the microorganism and Streptococcus mutans occurs in thepresence of saliva or at a pH range between 4.5 and 8.5.
 44. Thecomposition of claim 34, wherein the composition comprises at least0.01% by weight of the cells.
 45. The composition of claim 34, whereinthe composition comprises at least 0.1% by weight of the cells.
 46. Thecomposition of claim 34, wherein the microorganism binds toStreptococcus mutans serotype c (DSMZ 20523) and/or serotype e (NCTC10923) and/or serotype f (NCTC 11060).
 47. The composition according toclaim 34, wherein the microorganism is selected from the groupconsisting of L. paracasei DSM 16667, L. paracasei DSM 16668, L.paracasei DSM 16669, L. paracasei DSM 16670, and L. paracasei DSM 16671.48. The composition according to claim 45, wherein the microorganism isselected from the group consisting of L. paracasei DSM 16667, L.paracasei DSM 16668, L. paracasei DSM 16669, L. paracasei DSM 16670, andL. paracasei DSM
 16671. 49. A method for the production of thecomposition according to claim 34 comprising obtaining the cells of amicroorganism belonging to the group of lactic acid bacteria, and addingsaid cells to a raw or cooked feed material, molding, and granulating toform the composition.
 50. A liquid or solid_composition comprising cellsof at least one microorganism belonging to Lactobacillus paracasei whichis thermally inactivated by heating at more than 95° C. for at least 20minutes, the cells consisting of dead or inactivated cells, wherein saidcells bind to Streptococcus mutans in the presence of saliva or at a pHrange between 4.5 and 8.5, wherein the binding between said cells andStreptococcus mutans is calcium-dependent, resistant to heat treatmentat more than 95° C. for at least 20 minutes, and resistant to proteasetreatment, and wherein the composition comprises the cells in an amountof at least 0.001% by weight based on the weight of the composition;wherein said composition optionally comprises less than 1% (w/w) lactoseor more than 6% (w/w) lactose based on the composition; wherein thecomposition is a food or drink which further comprises at least oneorally acceptable carrier or excipient.
 51. The composition of claim 50,wherein the food or drink is selected from the group consisting ofjuices, refreshing drinks, soups, teas, sour milk beverages, dairyproducts, ices, butter, cheese, processed milk, skim milk, meatproducts, fish meat cake products, egg products, confectioneries,breads, noodles, pickles, smoked products, dried fishes, and seasonings.52. The composition of claim 50, wherein the composition is a powderfood, sheet-like food, bottled food, canned food, retort food, capsulefood, tablet food, or fluid food.
 53. The composition of claim 50,wherein the composition comprises at least 0.01% by weight of the cells.54. The composition of claim 50, wherein the composition comprises atleast 0.1% by weight of the cells.
 55. The composition according toclaim 50, wherein the microorganism is selected from the groupconsisting of L. paracasei DSM 16667, L. paracasei DSM 16668, L.paracasei DSM 16669, L. paracasei DSM 16670, and L. paracasei DSM 16671.56. The composition of claim 50, wherein the microorganism binds toStreptococcus mutans serotype c (DSMZ 20523) and/or serotype e (NCTC10923) and/or serotype f (NCTC 11060).
 57. A method for the productionof the composition according to claim 50 comprising obtaining the cellsof a microorganism belonging to the group of lactic acid bacteria, andadding said cells to a raw or cooked feed material, molding, andgranulating to form the composition.